The High Life
by wicked-nachos-09
Summary: Shannon/Stella femslash. Gangs, corrupt cops, kidnapping of a favourite character. Full summary inside. Please read and review.
1. The Prologue

**Title: **The High Life  
**Author:** wicked-nachos-09  
**Fandom/Pairing:** Rush - Shannon/Stella  
**Summary:** Stella's brother Frank is slowly becoming corrupt from the influences of gangs and tastes of the high life. Unknowingly and unwillingly, he involves her in the dispute with a local gang who holds a lot of power in the area. On top of recovering from being thrown into the consequences of her brother screwing over a violent gang of drug addicts and traffickers, Stella has to deal with a long-lasting not-so-secret relationship at work, a clingly ex-fling and a stalker. How will Shannon and Stella survive these rough times? Together or apart? As friends or lovers?  
**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Rush so this could really happen more than once a week for more than one hour every time.  
**A/N:** I wrote this at one am 'cause I couldn't get this idea out of my head. This is as far as my train of thought went. Hopefully I can push it a bit further tomorrow night.

PROLOGUE

The police vehicles slammed on the brakes outside the hospital emergency department entrance, coming close to hitting the departing ambulance. The five members of the seven member team jumping out of the cars before they had even fully come to a complete standstill. Inspector Kerry Vincent had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and had parked her car properly around the corner in the hospitals designated parking lot.

The leader of the Tactical Response Unit led his team into the building and straight to the administration desk, to a nurse who was _too busy_ talking to a colleague. Lawson Blake ignored Kerry's voice as he knocked on the glass window of the desk. The nurse waved him off, he was only dressed in his full Police uniform with six other officers behind him.

"Excuse me," he said strongly in his best seriously angry voice.

"Hold on, please."

The nurse seemed extremely reluctant to want to help him and sighed before turning back around to continue gossiping about the resident hottie.

"HEY!" Senior Sergeant Shannon Henry slammed a closed fist against the window, effectively gaining the nurses attention as the glass continued to rattle loudly. Kerry roughly grabbed the arm hole of Shannon's vest, pulled her away from the nurses' station, and began to talk in rushed whispers about something only the two of them, Lawson and Stella knew about.

"Now that we have your undivided attention, Nurse," started Lawson, watching as the short middle-aged turned with wide eyes, "Hamilton, I am Senior Sergeant Lawson Blake of the Tactical Response Unit. A member of my team was brought in around thirty minutes ago. Can you please tell me where Senior Constable Stella Dagostino is?"

The nurse gently lowered herself to her chair and began typing on the keyboard, searching for Stella's information.

"How do you spell her surname?" Nurse Hamilton seemed to be slightly on edge, either from Shannon's outburst, or Lawson's calm reaction to Shannon's outburst.

"D-A-G-O-S-T-I-N-O," Lawson answered.

The other members of the team waited anxiously behind him, Shannon and Kerry sitting in some chairs that several other people had vacated when they saw them coming.

"Dagostino, Stella. Heading to surgery on the third floor. You can wait up there if you like," politely came from the nurse.

"Thank you for your help," said Lawson, smiling. A small flick of the head and the entire group followed him towards the elevators.

The wait was torture, and the nurses at the station on the third floor were a lot politer and more helpful than Nurse Hamilton had been.

'_Maybe she called ahead,'_ thought Kerry.

Lawson was finding a new way to put the blame of what had happened to Stella on himself, Michael was pacing and wringing his hands together, and Christian was praying. Shannon was hunched over in a corner seat, knee bouncing, Josh leaning back in his stiff hospital waiting room chair with a hand on her back to comfort her. Kerry was looking for coffee.

It had been nearly an hour with no news from the doctors or nurses about Stella's condition and no one had moved, save Michael who had never stopped pacing.

One nurse walked in and asked for the TR vehicles to be moved. Technically, their shift had ended three hours ago and they were running on fumes.

"Alright," said Lawson. "Kerry, you want to stay here?"

"Yeah. I'll get Leon to find me some phone numbers for her parents," agreed the older woman, standing from her seat.

"Okay, the rest of us, down to the cars. We're going back to base. Restock the cars, shower. Come back later." After a moment, Lawson turned back and spoke louder than before. "Michael, move."

"No, I'm staying," he responded fiercely.

"Muppet, only two people are staying and that is Kerry and Shannon. The rest of us are leaving. We can always come back later. Now move!" said Josh, his first words, since jumping out of the car over an hour before. Michael willingly but grudgingly left with arguments.

"Why is she staying?" He said, pointing at Shannon, roughly as if he was jealous.

"Because I say she is," said Kerry.

Lawson threw car keys to Josh and Christian, Josh patting Shannon on the shoulder before he left. He wasn't blind to Stella's behaviours or actions, the same way she hadn't been when he was sleeping with Grace or Shannon. He knew, but was unsure how to ask, comfortable to let it play out. Defend them if he had too.

Shannon peeled off her Tactical Response vest, pulling her phone and wallet out of the chest pockets before handing it over to Lawson who was standing in front of her with his hands held out expectantly.

"Weapon, too."

The Senior Sergeant unbuckled the holster and handed it over, slumping back in to her seat and sighing shakily. Lawson kneeled in front of his team member, his family member.

"I'll be back later. Shannon, Stella is going to be fine. She's too bloody stubborn."

The young women cracked a smile; a small smile but a smile nonetheless.

It was well past midnight and neither woman was ready to sleep even though they had gotten very little sleep in the past two weeks.

Then it was only Kerry, Shannon and the silence of the waiting room.

* * *

Several people had come and gone by the next morning while two people had remained all night. Senior Sergeant Shannon Henry, a young women with copper-brown hair in a rumpled police uniform, and Inspector Kerry Vincent, a middle-aged woman with large bags under her eyes as a result of no sleep for three nights in a row. They were currently in the waiting room of the Fitzroy Hospital's surgery ward. The time was after eight am.

A nurse came in with two older aged people who's faces showed years of hard work and raising kids; Stella's parents, Nikolai and Nina. Her brother Frank was a city cop and only lived twenty minutes from the hospital. As siblings, Stella and Frank had never gotten along with Oskar playing mediator between the two. Even by living so close, he was less likely to arrive than Oskar was, and Oskar was a country cop out in Ballarat with his wife and two kids.

Immediately, Shannon and Kerry stood to greet them, give them news if they could.

"You must be Stella's parents?" asked Kerry, and upon receiving a nod and a quiet 'yes', she continued. "I'm Inspector Kerry Vincent. I'm Stella's boss."

They quickly shook hands, and Nikolai turned to Shannon and nearly suffocated her in a fatherly hug before Kerry could introduce her. Nina hugged her quickly and asked how she was.

"I'm okay. I would be a whole lot better if they could give us some news," explained Shannon. The look she was getting from her superior urged her to explain the hugs. "I met her parents about two months about, that week we all had off after Dom's funeral. Road trip up to Bendigo. Me and Stel."

The memory of the week they spent away from their real lives made her tear up slightly, but Shannon wiped them quickly as a doctor came around the corner in surgical scrubs.

"Family of Stella Dagostino?"


	2. The Beginning

Chapter 1 is mainly copied from the season 2 finale, but changed to fit in Shannon instead of Michael. It shows the aftermath of the ballistics report and Stella's life at work.  
Thanks for the reviews, they are really encouraging to continute this story.

* * *

After hours spent in bushland, the TR team finally raided the bus holding 18 hostages. The men holding shotguns to their heads, had been demanding a dozen young teenage girls back to their property, were members and one of them the leader of a cult. Unfortunately, one of the hostages had been killed, not by a shotgun wound but a 9mm bullet from a Police issue Glock.

The forensics team had taken the weapons and clothes of the Tactical Response team members. This was slightly full on for newcomer, Eliot. They were sent back to base in tarp-like adult onesies.

They left quietly and tensely, travelling in silence from the country areas of Warrandyte all the way back to the city. Once again in silence, they showered and dressed in silence and sauntered down to the pub for a drink.

Two weeks later, the level of tension had increased to the point where Lawson was snapping at everyone for no reason. He lost is particularly at Stella after TR1 had arrested a women responsible for contaminating the water supply for the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The woman had started letting off toxic gas as a bodily response to the organic phosphate she had used.

With ten minutes left until they reached the base, Lawson received a phone call from Kerry with the results of the ballistics report. Parking the cars and reluctantly getting out of the four-wheel-drive, Lawson headed towards the offices out the back, ignoring Michael's comment about Major Crime being present. He asked Stella to follow him.

"Why? Is this about the ballistics report?"

As Lawson turned to look back at Stella, he saw the rest of the team standing at the boot of the TR vehicles. "Yeah unfortunately, it came back as a match to your pistol. I'm sorry."

"How long have you known?" she demanded, crossing her arms as she got angry.

"Just ten minutes, okay. I found out in the car-," he started quietly, not wanting to get into anything out in the garage.

"Why didn't you say something then? Well, you should have said something!"

Lawson tried the excuse 'because it wasn't the right time' but that didn't fly with Stella. "I'm sorry."

Kerry come down the passage way with Detective Napthorn. Stella was still looking at Lawson.

"Stella, this is bad news I know-"

She wasn't listening to her superior. "You're a bastard Lawson, you sat there knowing. You knew...you knew I-"

"Hey Stella, this is just a formality, but the detective will have to interrogate you," explained Kerry.

The young officer scoffed and pushed past toward the showers, pushing past Kerry and Lawson, completely ignoring the Detective from Major Crimes. When Lawson walked in a few minutes later, she was staring off into nothing, the night of the shooting playing through her mind as she tried to figure out how she killed an innocent person.

"Stel," he wanted to say something, but he wasn't quite sure what.

"It's okay Lawson."

"We need to talk," he said. Lawson was looking at his officer while she was looking at the door, plainly ignoring him so he continued. "Look, this could have been any one of us, you know that. And if anyone is to blame it's me. I made some serious errors in judgement which meant we went in at a serious point of weakness. I failed you. I failed all of us. I failed that guy on the bus. So for that I'm sorry."

Lawson completed his speech with several loud sighs. Stella simply watched him as he finished, and then lifted her right leg to unclip her weapon holster from her leg and belt.

"I killed someone, Lawson," she started, almost unable to comprehend what she had done. She had a blank look on her face and was struggling not to cry. "How do you get over that?"

Stella waited a beat to see if Lawson would answer. When she saw that he wasn't going to say anything, she answered it herself. "Well, you don't, do you?"

It was as if she saw this as an end to their conversation and stood up to take off her TR uniform vest, turning her back on Lawson as her took her actions as encouragement to leave. Dropping it to the bench, Stella Dagostino buried her face in her hands.

Out in the locker room, Shannon and Josh were sitting on the large bench in the middle of the room, Michael pacing slightly as if he felt responsible for what happened. Shannon pinched the bridge of her nose as Michael sat down across from them on a small filing cabinet.

"What do you think will happen to her?" he asked.

Shannon's eyes flickered from Michael to Josh, hoping that he would be honest, while not wanting to hear his answer at all.

"Hopefully, the investigation is just a formality."

"Nah, I didn't mean that," said Michael, turning to look out to the garage where Napthorn was standing with Kerry and Lawson discussing the news.

Josh was unable to answer his remark, because he didn't know how too. Both boys shared a common look, worried about their teammate. Shannon remained quiet, unsure of opening her mouth in case she said something she would regret.

Then Stella walked into the locker rooms, receiving encouraging looks from them. She held Shannon's eyes for a moment and took in her gentle smile, before lowering her view to her locker doorhandle.

Michael offered to go with her. She kept her mouth shut and shook her head no, offering an 'nah, I'm okay thanks'.

"Let us know if you need anything," said Josh. Sure they had never really gotten along, until after Grace died, but as a member of the elite squad he would always back his friends if they needed it.

"See ya," said Stella.

She walked out with confidence while full of nervousness, and was followed by all eyes watching as she got into the car with the Detective. Shannon watched on, then sneaked a look at Michael. It seemed as if he was really itching to go and jump into the car and go with her, but he knew he would get his arse kicked if he did. And not just by Lawson and Kerry, but by Stella as well.

The dark sedan drove out of the garage, the members of TR remaining deathly still until it had disappeared fully from view.

"She might not come back from this, you know that 'ey?" Kerry asked Lawson.

A few seconds later they heard Dom up the hall yelling about the water back on. If Leon wasn't playing a video game on the system, Dom could've heard a pin drop.

"Come on, restock the cars, get changed and go home. I know this sucks, but just finish out your shift and then you can do whatever," instructed the team leader, walking away with Kerry to discuss what would happen to Stella.

The Year 11 girls that had taken the five grand from Michael when he had been swimming in the pool had turned up to return it. Shannon told him to have more faith in people, and hurriedly filed her paperwork and left to change and go home. That was until she somehow ended up outside the Homicide Investigations building and decided to go and see Stella.

Kerry was already up there waiting for her to come out.

"I'll wait for her. I'll take her home," said Shannon, dropping her jacket and bag next to a chair and plopping herself down as Kerry approached with a cup of water.

"Okay. Hey, look after her alright?"

Shannon nodded, intending to keep her word.

* * *

Stella's interrogation with Detective Napthorn was unfortunately open and brutally honest about what had occurred that night on the bus out in Warrandyte. It felt like it was passing in blocks of time rather than a smoothly flowing bout of time.

The young Tactical Response officer had been required to explain in explicit detail everything she remembered from the night of the shooting.

"I remember the slide coming back on my pistol. I didn't hear anything, just the muzzle flash..."

Napthorn watched as she the details slide through her mind, saying them as she remembered each piece of information.

"The second round was a chest shot. It hit the offender. He went down after that..."

Now Stella was beginning to understand what had happened while struggling to continue talking.

"There were two bullets in him and you're saying one of them came from Sergeant Joshua's weapon?"

Napthorn nodded and quietly said yes. Stella's jaw clenched.

"So it was my first shot, missed the offender and killed him."

Stella was overcome with strong feelings of guilt, anger and grief and had no idea on how to handle it. They had quickly finished reviewing the statement Stella had given and Napthorn had she said was free to go and followed the small passage to offices out into the main hallway, opening the door and expecting Kerry but getting Shannon instead. They shared a small smile but it didn't last long until it fell from Stella's face.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

It was a twenty minute drive in near silence, the two women holding hands over the console in a sign of comfort. As they pulled up to Stella's apartment complex, Shannon put her car in park and switched the engine off when a beeping came from the open passenger side door.

"I'm going to see you up," offered the older of the two.

"No, don't worry."

The calmness in her voice scared Shannon slightly. A tear slipped down Stella's cheek and she let out a small laugh as she wiped it away.

"Thanks, Shan." One last smile was given before she got out and closed the door forcefully.

Shannon watched her teammate walk towards her building, and was not at all shocked or surprised at her turning back around, and walking speedily to the car. Stella's head came through the window and looked at Shannon.

"Shan," she started, but again she was at a loss for words.

Knowing that Stella was fighting a losing battle with herself, she smiled again and put the windows up, locking the car, adjusting her bag on her shoulder following the younger girl up. Stella opened the security door and held it open, reaching for her friends hand once again.

She found holding hands with Shannon to be oddly more comforting that with anyone else she had ever been with, friend or otherwise. Dayle, the building maintenance worker, was sweeping the floor down the hallway on the ground floor as they climbed the stairs in silence.

Shannon had never been in Stella's apartment before, looking all around as her bag and jacket were taken from her, placed on the bench next to the door and above the mass of shoes littering the floor.

They stood looking at each other for a moment until Stella offered a drink.

"No thanks, Stel. Did you want to talk about anything?"

A violent shake of the head was all Shannon needed to push her across the distance and pull her friend into a hug. It was returned with tears. It look several minutes before the brunette calmed down long enough for Shannon to pull away and wipe her tears. A wet smile was sent to her, but the hazel-y-brown eyes showed anything but amusement.

She was offered a t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts and shown the bathroom. The crack in the doorway between the floor and the door, Shannon could see the light becoming darkness and then a faint light. She was hoping not to trip on anything.

The fairy lights had been turned on above the bed head, showering the wall with tiny little white lights as it lit up the cracks and crevices of the painted-white brick wall. Stella was watching her as she came out, one hand behind her head, the other on her stomach, treading lightly to the opposite side of the bed where the blanket was already pulled back for her.

The lights shone down on them, the younger one rolling over as Shannon climbed in behind her. The bed sheets were cool, but she had a feeling they weren't going to get much sleep. The thought process coming from Stella was too loud to sleep.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly. There was no need to yell or speak loudly, there was no sound in the open loft. She had never heard Stella be so quiet, as she always one ready to voice her opinions whether they were wanted or not.

"I don't know," came back in a whisper. "How am I supposed to feel? I killed someone."

Nervously (Shannon had never been a touchy-feely kind of girl, but the moment required some physical comforts), Shannon let her hand reach out and pull the younger girl to her willingly, leaving her arm where it was around the thin waist. It was a few moments before there was any sound or movement; Stella slipped her hand into Shannon's and shifted back into her, sighing as loudly as Lawson had done earlier in the day.

Closer to one in the morning, Stella had finally fallen into a pretty restless sleep and had been tossing and turning for the better part of an hour. Shannon's arm was still held firmly in place by Stella's until she threw it off in her sleep. The tossing and turning had gotten worse and the older woman who was usually in control of situations was at a loss of what to do. She settled on waking her up, but found the task more difficult than she had anticipated.

Breathing deeply, Stella had suddenly bolted upright with her eyes wide open in shock. Shannon was watching carefully with tired eyes, waiting for anything.

"Bad dream."

It took nearly another hour to get Stella back to sleep. Shannon was awake the whole night, watching over her, keeping her word to Kerry.

* * *

It had been nearly three weeks since the ballistics report had come out, and Stella was having great difficulty re-adjusting to life at the base. Until the homicide investigation was completed, she was to be put on desk duty. How Dom was doing it, she had no idea. She wasn't getting enough sleep either, so looking at computer screens for eight hours a day was giving her constant headaches. Thankfully they all had the weekend off, and were looking forward to trying to relax.

Shannon had been over every night since her interview, refusing to leave her side, wanting to help her get through this. She soon learned that Shannon had been trying to stop her seeing the front page of the newspaper. Michael had begun making many attempts at talking to her since the report came back, but Stella quickly learnt how to avoid him and be off based before the TR vehicles arrived back at base. It was simple; don't be there.

Shortly after the report had come out, the news had been released to the media due to the publicity the death. The front page of the Herald Sun Newspaper was covered with a large photograph of the man that had been killed. 'DEATH SQUAD' was in bold italics above that and an insert of Stella's service record photo was in the corner.

She now understood why people had been looking at her as she walked down the street with her shopping.

She cornered Shannon as she was coming out of the shower at the end of a nasty shift, newspaper in hand, wanting a straight answer.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" she asked, sounding so defeated that Shannon's heart broke with every word.

"You...you already felt too guilty for something that was an accident. None of us wanted you to place more guilt on yourself," Shannon tried to explain seriously, but it was hard when she was only wearing a towel.

"Of course I feel guilty, Shannon. I killed someone. That guy didn't go home to his wife, and his sister. He was buried, and it was MY fault," yelled Stella. "I deserve to feel guilty."

"It was an accident. It wasn't your fault," said Shannon, eyes following the angry woman as she retched the door open, only to stop in her tracks when she saw Josh, Michael, Dom and Kerry standing there staring.

Kerry pointed to her office and followed the TR officer up the hallway. The eyes of the rest of the team, including Shannon who stuck her head out of the door, followed as well.

"Stella, you're under an extreme amount of stress right now, I get it. Okay?" said Kerry.

"No, you don't understand. You don't know how it feels to walk through the supermarket at have all of the people, these random people stare at you while you choose what's for dinner," Stella was beyond angry. "Now I know why they all stare."

The newspaper was thrown haphazardly onto the desk. Kerry leaned against the desk in front of Stella.

"It wasn't your fault. It was an accident, Stella. Now, you listen to me," said Kerry, effectively stopping Stella from interrupting what she was about to say. "It was an accident. You are not to blame. We didn't tell you because we wanted to protect you from that. Do you understand?"

"I want out," said Stella, keeping her eyes on the floor. If she tried to say this while she looked Kerry in the eye, she wouldn't have been able too.

"What?"

"I want out of TR. Transfer me out, please. I can't do this anymore. It's not just people in the street who stare, it's my own colleagues, my friends, people who were there that night."

"We can sort that out, you don't have to leave," pleaded the Inspector.

"Either transfer me to general duties, or I resign on the spot," said Stella, finally lifting her eyes to meet Kerry's.

Several long minutes were spent in a tension filled silence, as they stared at each other – Kerry mulling over each option in her mind, Stella wanting her to hurry up.

"Fine. I'll arrange for a transfer. But think about this, you're taking the chicken shit option out of this. Instead of standing by us, your teammate who would back you up, you want to run away in hopes that this will all disappear. If you think that will happen, you're wrong. You're dead wrong!" said Kerry.

It was a bad choice of words for someone who had killed an innocent man. When the Senior Constable looked at her superior as she stood, she looked entirely broken and defeated.

"Thank you," her voice cracking as she moved to the door.

"For what?"

"For being the first person in this building to be honest with me in the last three weeks," she answered, leaving the office for the last time.

The field trained team members, were flittering about in the office area when she arrived to pull her stuff out of her locker and hang her uniform up. It had never looked so bare to her before. She pulled the name tag off the door and closed it, walking out of the garage, looking back quickly and turning on the spot, slowly walking out of the Tactical Response Unit base.


	3. The Failed Attempt

Okay, next update. Thanks for the reviews guys. I'm trying to keep it consistant with posting. I also have a beta now so it maight take a little longer to post depending on how long she takes. :)

Enjoy

* * *

Stella only had to wait a week until her transfer from Tactical Response to General Duties at Preston Police Station had gone through. In those seven days, she had nothing to but avoid the calls and the knocks on the door from _them_. As a team, they had had an extremely hard time accepting her decision. Michael had repeatedly turned up at least five nights that week well after eleven o'clock. Josh was smarter and had a better idea at when she would be home. At least Lawson, Kerry and Shannon had backed off.

Several times, she had been on the phone to her father Nik or older brother Oskar, trying to understand what she was feeling. They weren't sure, but were glad for the phone calls. Everyone was trying to help, but no one could really do anything, except for one person and she was at home on the other side of the city.

"Miss you, little sis," said Oskar, as he pressed the end call button and disappeared.

It was Thursday. Stella had left Tactical Response on the Friday before. At noon, there was a loud banging on her front door. As she looked through the peep hole, Stella sighed for the umpteenth time that week. She reluctantly pulled it open, knowing that he wouldn't stop until she did.

"You're an idiot," said Josh, who was fully decked out in his uniform.

Suddenly, Stella was feeling quite underdressed, as she was rarely in plain clothes while the others were in uniform. Her favourite white singlet top, with a pair of large, baggy black basketball shorts she had stolen from her brother Oskar when they were in high school was now feeling somewhat inadequate.

"Go ahead, lay it on me. It's not like I haven't heard it already," deadpanned Stella, sitting on her couch with her arms over the back. "You wanna turn off your camera first?"

He pulled it out and let it hang there; no longer transmitting visual feeds back to base.

"We would have stuck by you, Stel. You stood by me, and I would gladly return the favour. So pull your head out of your arse and start behaving like Stella Dagostino!"

"Bite me, Josh. We stuck by you because your girlfriend died, you didn't kill anyone. There's a difference there," she yelled.

"That is a piss poor argument and you know it. You know, when Kerry told us you left during briefing on Saturday, Shannon walked out. Without hearing the end of it. Why. How. When. She is pissed off at you, more than the rest of us." His voice became quieter as he continued. "For some reason, you mean something to her. You're her best mate, and for you to leave it to Kerry to tell her, it's a low blow."

"I know, Josh. I'm not happy with the way I handled it either, but I couldn't deal with those looks, those stares. I snapped and made a stupid judgment call, okay. I can't do TR anymore," said Stella, feeling defeated and letting her tears fall.

The tears fell for the dead man, her fractured career and her broken relationships with other people. They spent several minutes in silence, Josh dropping himself into the lay-z-boy.

"Who's in TR2 with you?" she asked, making an effort to converse.

"Shannon and the new guy."

"A new guy already? Ouch, that hurts," she said, trying to be cocky unsuccessfully.

"Yeah, Christian. Good guy, so far. We needed the extra man with Dom still on desk duty," Josh explained. "Come down and say hi. Apologise to her. Make plans or something."

"You know Shannon, she doesn't forgive and forget very easily. She won't want to see me."

"Don't feed me that bullshit. I've seen the way you look at her, Stel. The same way Michael looks at you...okay bad example. The way I looked at Grace. I know why her opinion means so much to you. ("You keep that to yourself. Josh!" yelled Stella). Just come downstairs for five minutes."

Now Josh was begging. It wasn't a good look on him. When she didn't make a move, he did, reaching for her flip flops and throwing them at her.

"Come on."

"You want me to meet my replacement, Josh. That's very insensitive of you."

Stella huffed and reluctantly followed, hoping not to get into a fight with Shannon.

Down three flights of stairs, Shannon was sitting in the driver's seat of TR2 chatting casually with Christian, getting to know him. Movement out of the corner of her eye, and she turned her head, watching as Josh pulled Stella across the parking lot to the car.

Stella waved nervously, offering an awkward smile as she took a seat on the bench in the middle of the lot. Shannon glared at the Senior Sergeant.

"Go on, get your bullshit over with." Josh instructed, leaning in the passenger's side window. "You two shouldn't fight. Both of you mean too much to each other," he said, nudging Shannon out of the car. "Wait! Give me your gun. We don't want her dead."

"Bite me, Josh," she said, shaking her head and walking out towards Stella.

"What is it with people telling me to bite them?" he asked Christian, as he took his seat in the car. The Samoan shrugged and leaned forward in his seat to watch the exchange between Shannon and Stella.

"So, what's their story?" Christian asked, looking at Josh as he poked his head over the console and into the front seats, hanging off the driver's seat.

"Stella, the little one. She's the one you're replacing. Her argument is that she couldn't handle the looks and the comments she was getting, so she is transferring back to general duties. Starts next week. There has always been something between the two of them. It wasn't until I figured out Stella's problem that it all clicked," said Josh explaining the first year Shannon had spent with TR briefly.

"What clicked?"

"Stella is crushing on Shannon. Now if you say a word about this-," he threatened.

"Okay, not a word," said Christian, throwing up his hands in surrender and turning back to watch Shannon and Stella not so subtly with Josh.

"Shan, I'm sorry for not telling you, for not explaining to you. I didn't know how to deal."

"I thought we were friends. You let me find out from Kerry!"

"I know, I'm sorry, okay. I didn't know how to tell you. You're my best mate, Shan. It's killing me knowing that you're mad at me."

"I'm sorry too," replied Shannon. "I was there for you that whole week and it felt like you threw it back in my face. I would help you with anything, but I don't even get the time of day from you. It hurt, Stel."

"I don't have anything else to say. I've already said sorry. I don't know what else I can say," explained Stella, resting her head on Shannon's shoulder, flipping Josh off at the same time.

"General duties, huh?"

"Yeah, out in Preston."

"Have fun, you desk jockey," giggled the older woman. "Promise we'll catch up, stay friends?"

The idea of 'friends' was comforting, knowing that Shannon still wanted to be in her life, despite all of her faults and her dummy spits.

"Yeah, of course. Are you free tomorrow night?" Shannon nodded against Stella's head. "Can I tempt you with a girls night in; dinner, booze, gossip, music. My treat?"

"Okay. When do you want me here?" she asked, smiling at Stella's idea of a girls night. It had been a long time since either of them had had a girls night in, even longer for a girls night with each other.

"Straight after your shift. And you can stay over," offered Stella. "I don't want you driving drunk."

"Alright, I'll be there."

Shannon gave Stella a warm hug, which was probably warm due to the high temperatures outside. It was days like these that Stella would be grateful she wasn't required to wear the TR uniforms. Those things, along with the vests, could boil anyone.

Perfect timing from Leon as usual, a message came over their comm's about a hostage situation in Williamstown and that as the closest negotiator, Shannon was required at the scene. Josh radioed back and said they were fifteen minutes off, if Shannon got back in the car.

"This was your idea!" She yelled out to Josh through his open window. She stood up and looked down to Stella. "I gotta go. Hostage situation. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely. Just let me know when your shift ends."

"It's a date."

'_Date? Oh, god, why did she have to use that word?'_ Thought Stella, watching Shannon speed away as Josh adjusted the lights and sirens.

He flipped her off as they drove off, smiling smugly as he did so. Stella waved back. She would miss TR, but she made her choices and now she had to live with them.

"So?" asked Josh, when they were ten minutes away from Stella's and Shannon still hadn't said anything.

"We're hanging out tomorrow night after shift," she said, giving both boys a strange look when Josh smirked at Christian, both of them obviously thinking the same thing.

While the rest of her shift and the following day went rather fast for Shannon, Stella's time spent alone dragged on until 1 o'clock in the afternoon when she decided to get out of bed and tidy her apartment. That feat took several hours.

Her phone beeped forty-five minutes into her cleaning. Shannon finished work at five and would be there around six thirty. Stella told her to wear comfy clothes and continued her cleaning. One last message came through, _'I'm bringing the wine. __xx'._ By five, her apartment was cleaner than it had been since she moved in four years before.

After a shower, Stella had trouble deciding what to do for dinner, unsure what Shannon would like. It took her until ten minutes before Shannon's arrival to realise that she was treating their night in like a date, and not like two friends hanging out. A loud knock on the front door, took her from her thoughts and she walked with a bounce in her step to the front door.

There was Shannon in a pair of loose but perfectly fitting shorts sitting low on her hips, flip flops and a blood red v-neck t-shirt was covered with an old flannel shirt, with her bag hanging casually over her shoulder. A bag from the local bottle-o hung from her right hand. Her hair was wet like she had just gotten out of the shower.

"Hey," she said, offering a smile that said she was ready for their night to begin.

"Hi. Come on in," replied the brunette, moving aside to let her in and taking the wine to put in the fridge. "Make yourself at home."

"We've been friends for over a year and this is the first time I've ever seen this place so clean," said Shannon, slipping off her flip flops, taking a seat on the end of the bed and dropping her bag carefully next to it. She was comfortable in the loft, but didn't want to overstep her boundaries.

There was a new air conditioner sitting above the couch, humming quietly under the steady stream of music. Thankfully, it was a lot cooler inside than it was in the hallway.

Stella laughed lightly, thankful for the icebreaker. "Well the closest I've been to the inside of yours is the driveway. Yeah. I had nothing to do all day. It's so boring having time off of work. Umm, I wasn't sure what you would want for dinner so I figured we could just order in."

"Alright, what menus do you have?" asked Shannon, taking notice of the flyers and take-out menus held to the fridge with magnets as she leant back onto her hands.

They finally settled on food from a little Thai place around the corner, and Stella phoned in for a home delivery as Shannon took in the photos on the large bookcase against the wall. Stella had put up some new photos since Shannon had last looked. An eight-by-six black and white photograph of three young children smiling and giggling on a swing set in a back yard; two boys and a girl.

"This you and your brothers?" Shannon asked, enjoying the sentimental value of the photo. She turned to Stella when the younger woman walked up behind her.

"Yeah, I was about five. We had just gotten this massive swing set for the backyard from Santa." There was a smile at the memory and she looked back at it. There was a five-year-old Stella in a white sundress, sitting on top of the slide, arms above her head in a 'ta-da' pose. A little pudgy looking boy was sitting on the swing, trying to get as high as he could, and a slightly older looking boy hanging upside down on the monkey bar swing. "That's Frank on the swing, and Oksar hanging upside down."

"That's cute. I wish I had some brothers or sisters," said Shannon, thinking of the fantasies she had a kid, wanting a little brother to pick on or a little sister to play tea parties with in their bedroom.

She moved along to a photo of two little boys, a school photo professionally taken, the older one standing at the back with his hand on his little brothers shoulder. They were both smiling, showing teeth that had gaps from loosing baby teeth.

"Oskar and Frank?"

"Nah, those are Osk's kids. Robbie is the one at the back and that is Mark in the front. Mark just started prep this year, and Oskar and Sarah decided I need pictures of my nephews. It's uncanny how much they look like Oksar when he was a kid," explained Stella, pointing to the photo of the kids on the swing set and then to the school photo as the doorbell rang, and she moved to pay for their food. There was no doubt in Shannon's mind that Robbie and Mark were Oskar's kids.

They had spent nearly half an hour looking at the photos until the food arrived, and made small talk about changes at work, family, relationships and sex over their Thai meal and a bottle of white wine.

"What's new with you? We haven't really talked since just before the shooting," said Stella, suddenly avoiding eye contact. Shannon could see a slight smirk on her face. "You still hooking up with Josh?"

"Nah, that ended months ago. I've kinda of had my mind on someone else for a while. That and I was sick of meaningless sex, despite how amazing it was," she explained, slightly blushing as she reached across the small table for the bottle of wine.

"So, what? You're off sex?" Stella sounded slightly abashed.

"A vow of celibacy for one year. I'm three months in," said Shannon, as if proud of herself.

"Regret it yet?" asked Stella, a cocky grin on her face, the size of her pupils suggesting her was well on her way to a hangover the next morning.

"No," smiled Shannon, giggling along with her friend. "Not yet."

"So who is this other person you've had your eye on?" was asked after a few minutes silence, the only sound coming from knives and forks on the ceramic plates. Curiosity had killed the cat and was close to killing Stella as well.

"Oh, it's no one. Let me ask you something. How did you know that you were interested in women?"

Stella had not been expecting that kind of question and the piece of chicken she was aiming for her mouth missed completely.

"I just did. I don't think there was ever a specific moment. I just don't apply the boundaries of sexuality to myself I guess. Is this an interest in my personal history, or are you experiencing something?"

"I dunno. I'm not sure yet," said Shannon, shrugging her shoulders. Stella smiled. "Let's move on, shall we?"

They spent the rest of their evening finishing the wine and digging in to the beer that was in the fridge. They fell asleep, or rather passed out, after their second movie, second bottle of wine and sixth beer each. Thankfully, they 'fell asleep' on the bed, and not the couch or the floor; since Stella's entertainment unit consisting of a small TV, a DVD player and several DVD's was on wheels, they plonked it next to the bed and watched their movies.

Somehow, during their alcohol fuelled sleep, they had become rather attached to each other, neither waking up until closer to lunch than breakfast. Shannon's head was in Stella's lap, her flannel shirt twisted awkwardly around her arms. Stella was mostly sitting in bed, hand resting gently on Shannon's shoulder. The doona cover was sprawled over the foot end of the bed and the floor, no doubt kicked away during the heat of the night.

Panadol and leftovers was the cure for both of them, and Stella let her guest use the shower before using it herself. They sat nursing coffees for half an hour before Shannon decided she needed to do some cleaning of her own and nice big wash load at home. Stella walked her out, taking the rubbish with her as she went and dumping it in a bin around the corner.

"I'll talk to you soon, eh?" asked Stella, looking hopeful.

"Definitely. If you don't talk to me, I will arrest you just to catch up."

They hugged once more, Shannon wished Stella luck for Monday and things went slightly sour at the mention of her new job.

"I'll talk to you later," offered the younger one, hands deep in her pockets as she watched Shannon get in her car, and waved as she tooted the horn as a goodbye.

Stella sighed strongly and made her way back inside, turning her head to look back at the direction the blue car had gone.

* * *

The weekend all of a sudden went too fast and the next thing Stella knew it was Monday already. It had been several years since she had worn the traditional light blue shirt, blue slacks, and thick black leather belt, and while the feeling was familiar, it also acted as a blunt reminder of where she now was. The navy blue cap with the Victorian Police logo on the front was shoved into her bag.

It was barely a fifteen minute drive as she pulled into the small car park. Tactical Response was looking good at this point. The woman at the desk thought she was playing a bad joke, until a Detective came through from the back and clumsily corrected her.

"You must be, wait, don't tell me. Deegastine?" he said with a humorous smile, and offered his hand.

He had the brains of a piece of cabbage.

"D-A-g-O-stin-O actually. Senior Constable Stella Dagostino, I'm supposed to start today."

"Yes, that's right. Well I was close, wasn't I? Come on through," he said, as she shook his hand.

She walked behind the wall-to-wall desk through the small passage and through a door to reveal a small bullpen of no more than fifteen desks all separated by small walls that they could pin things too. There were three very tiny offices along the far wall.

"That's the chief through there Senior Sergeant Charlie Harris, you'll meet him once he is done with Maria."

Stella followed his finger to an office in the back. A large man was sitting in a leather seat behind a small desk. A small, frail, older woman was sitting opposite him, her hand bag sitting in her lap held by gloved hands.

"This is your desk," said the man. "And your partner, fresh out of the academy, is late. Oh sorry, I'm Detective Sam Stone, and you can call me Sam."

At the words 'fresh out of the academy', fear flooded through her, ignoring the fact that that creep Stone tried to hit on her. She had to babysit? He smiled at her and winked as he walked away. Several other people were staring at her, looking away when Harris's door slammed open with such force that a Constable walking past fell over. The little woman, Maria, nearly ran out.

Stella realised that she had no idea what she was supposed to do, until her 'partner' dumped a bag on the floor under the desk and taking off her jacket, hanging it over the back of her chair.

"Hi! I'm Lynette."

She was awfully peppy, and not just for the early time of the day (it was only eight o'clock'), but too peppy for a cop.

"Dagostino!"

Before she had time to introduce herself properly, Harris had yelled out across the bullpen for her to come into his office. She smiled at Lynette and shrugged softly before hurrying to the head-honcho's office. Most of the heads turned and followed.

"Just wanted to say welcome to Preston Police Station and to formally introduce myself," he explained. For some reason, Stella got the impression he was a cold, hard man, one not to be crossed. He offered her the seat Maria had not long vacated and she quickly took it. "I am Senior Sergeant Charlie Harris. I am your commanding officer. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, sir. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do. It's my first day in GD in nearly three years. I'm a little lost, to be honest," explained Stella.

"Ah, yes. I have some paperwork for you to fill out. As I understand, you are transferring from the Tactical Response Unit. Did one of them pick on you?"

"No."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I was under the impression that Inspector Kerry Vincent would have discussed with you why I was transferred," said Stella, somehow entirely lost as to what was going on. Not to mention Harris was being a prick.

"No, she did not. Why don't you tell me?"

He leant his large leather chair back, and it creaked with his weight.

"I killed someone. I felt I couldn't perform to the accuracies of a police officer in that position anymore. I needed a change, to take a step back," explained Stella, unsure of what he was going to do.

"Right, then," he said after a beat or two of silence. Suddenly he broke out smiling. "You passed my little test."

'_Okay, I work for a nutcase,_' thought Stella, wishing he had the balls of Kerry or Lawson, hell even Leon.

"Today will mostly be paperwork for you. Just getting to know where everything is, who people are, stuff like that. Then tomorrow we will see about getting you into some patrol work. Now, here at Preston, we have a slight lack in sergeants, so the senior constables are paired up with the probationary officers. You know how to patrol yes?"

Stella nodded.

"Okay then, well here is your paperwork. Fill that out and bring it back. Take your time, make sure you understand everything. If you don't finish it today, you can take it home."

A large binder folder, full of papers, forms to fill out, answer sheets to be completed, was dropped onto the edge of the desk in front of her.

"Thank you, sir," grimaced Stella, as she attempted to smile at him, shook his hand, took her homework and left the office.

When she reached her desk, she properly introduced herself to her partner, and spent most of the day sitting there with a Styrofoam cup of coffee filling out her work and making small talk with Lynette. Shannon wasn't kidding when she had said desk-jockey.

Stella had an overwhelming amount of emotion inside her, missing TR and the people in it.

* * *

Her first week at Preston Police Station on general duties was hell. It was if everyone there was either too dumb to be placed anywhere else or they had all had a whiff of laughing gas before they rocked up in the mornings. Stella had the weekend off and on Friday night sauntered down to the pub for a quiet drink alone, to ponder what on earth had possessed her to transfer.

They were all there, enjoying a drink, laughing at Michael's idiocies. Stella watched through the window for a moment and just stared, wishing she could be in there with them, but no longer feeling as though she fit in with them. They were elite, she wasn't. Not anymore.

She sat down on the brickwork and tried to think of another pub around the area. For some strange reason, Stella didn't want to drink at home, with fear of developing of developing a habit. Five minutes later and Michael came out.

"Stella! What are you doing here?" he asked. It was only seven at night. The team had been there for half an hour according to memory. Gosh, he was such a lightweight.

"Thinking of a beer," she said, hugging him back softly.

Stella hadn't wanted to be seen, just wanted to be alone for a little while. All of the perkiness at work was getting to her.

"Come inside, join the party," he offered. "Come on."

He tried to steer her inside O'Malley's, and did so successfully. She was hesitant about being there.

"Look who I found outside," he near yelled.

Shannon giggled at him, and the boys gave her hugs, Christian's being tentative as he met her for the first time. Leon was off his face more than Michael. The only women apart of the team now (Kerry didn't count because she wasn't at the pub) rushed to hug Stella.

"You have not called me at all this week! Why not?"

"Shit week," said Stella, shrugging, returning the hug fiercely, then ordering a beer.

"How's Preston, Stell?" yelled Leon across the bar.

She thought carefully on how to word her answer.

"One of them is a perv, and the rest belong in a circus. I swear, it's like they all take crack before they come in. Too much pep, not enough dirty talk."

"Which one is the perv?" asked Josh, taking an interest.

"Sam Stone, or something. He's a Detective, hits on me nearly every chance he gets. He's just creepy."

She involuntarily shuddered, and Shannon hugged her from behind. "You still got us, even if you don't work at TR anymore."

"Here, here," they yelled, clinking their glasses, downing them and ordering another round.

* * *

What are you thoughts?


	4. The Comeback

**Chapter 3 finally up! Enjoy! Chapter four up by wednesday hopefully. Appreciate the reviews**

* * *

It had taken Stella two months, to the day, to crack. In those two months, she had had several encounters with the members of TR and desperately wanted her old job back. Kerry would gladly take her back to reduce the effort she had to put in to finding and training another Constable after Dom's meltdown. As a team they would happily and warmly welcome her back. The problem was getting Lawson to agree to it. Stella knew that and made mental notes on how to persuade the Senior Sergeant.

As she planned her escape from general duties, life at the Preston Police Station taken a slight turn for the worse just three weeks into her new job. Detective Sam Stone, who had been the first to welcome her, had developed a slight attraction to her and was asking her out to lunch or dinner every chance he got. Stella was now unable to count on all ten fingers how many times she had refused.

His unnatural pep and the leering looks he gave her made her want to call Josh in to play her pretend boyfriend to get Sam to back off. She decided that her choices were to either call Josh, or to call Shannon to add emphasis on the fact Sam and Stella often batted for the same team.

"Stella!" he said one evening as she just arrived for the night duty shift with Lynette, talking casually and joking. "Hey, Stella!"

As soon as he said her name, she rolled her eyes and Lynette gave her a look of sympathy and continued to her desk. Stella reluctantly turned around to reject him once again.

"Yes, Detective Stone?"

"I've told you to call me Sam," he said, smiling. Stella smiled back in an unamused fashion. "Are you free tomorrow night for dinner?"

"No, I am not."

She turned on her heel and proceeded to her desk. He followed like a lost puppy.

"What are your plans?" she asked, hopeful they would change.

When Stella had said that she wasn't free for dinner the following evening, she wasn't lying. Shannon had invited her over for a catch up session over more takeaway and wine. However, the way she phrased her wording when telling Sam of her plans was completely made up.

"I'm meeting my girlfriend for dinner tomorrow night, not that it is any of your business," she huffed.

"She's only your friend, can't you reschedule?"

"No, Sam, I can't."

Stella sat down and tried to not look at Lynette, whose head was as close as possible to the paperwork she was supposed to be focusing on to avoid bursting out in laughter. Lynette knew that Stella was currently single and only trying to get rid of him.

"Why not?" he whined. Now he was simply being annoying.

"Because she is my _girlfriend_," said Stella, eyebrows raised as she talked slowly in an attempt to get her point across. It took a few moments but it finally clicked for Sam.

"Ahhhh. Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place? I would have stopped asking," he said like it was all very simple.

"Believe me Sam, I tried to," she answered. Lynette's head was now resting against the desk, paperwork forgotten. "I'm going to go ahead and do some work now."

He turned with a sour look on his face and stomped away at his failed attempt in getting a date. As soon as he was back in his office Stella spoke again, but this time to her partner.

"You can laugh out loud now," she smiled.

A month after her last encounter with Detective Sam Stone regarding a dinner date, her partner Lynette had been shot in a moment of stupidity when she broke cover with a sniper on the loose. Stella was forced to rescue her and wait with her for the ambulance. Shannon had taken the life of the female sniper from the top of an adjacent building with a sniper rifle, Michael as her watcher.

Sam had decided at the tragedy of Lynette getting shot, Stella would need some comforting, forgetting all about the 'girlfriend' talk they had had. Thankfully, Shannon was picking her up for a night out with the rest of the team and as soon as Stella had spotted her in the foyer, told her to go with it for the moment, she would explain later.

The moment Stella put her arm around Shannon's waist, she knew that it was about the detective and put her arm over Stella's shoulder pulling her down the stairs to the front door. Unfortunately, he caught them as Shannon opened the door. Stella rolled her eyes again.

"Damn it!" she swore under her breath.

"Stella, are you sure okay? Do you need a lift home or anything?" he said, ignoring Shannon and putting a worried expression on.

"I'm okay, thanks. Night out at the pub with the boys and my girlfriend," she said, nodding to Shannon. Shannon disguised a giggle as a bad cough.

"Alcohol is probably not a good idea at times like these."

"What times?"

"In times of tragedy. Lynette was shot!" he said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"The bullet went right through her leg. The doctor said she will be as good as new in two months and little physical therapy," explained Stella. "It's not like she died."

She was beginning to get fed up with his feeble attempts. He was worse than Michael. Stella adjusted her arm around Shannon's waist, pulling her slightly closer.

"Goodnight, Detective Stone," she said firmly, trying to express how much she didn't want to go out with him.

He watched as Shannon pressed a kiss to Stella's forehead and looked back over her shoulder, a smirk sitting perfectly on her face. Stella snuggled in slightly in the cold wind, nipping at their hair and faces sharply, content with where she was despite the fact that it was all for show.

They reached the parking lot, keeping up the act while Shannon opened the passenger door of her car for Stella. She quickly settled herself in the driver's seat and drove off towards O'Malley's pub for a traditional drink with the boys.

"Thanks for that. He really doesn't get my drift, and I told him flat out to his face last week," said Stella, putting her bag at her feet and looking exasperatedly at Shannon as she drove.

"He does seem a bit thick. If he goes any further, report him. It is border lining on harassment, Stel," agreed Shannon, looking at her as they pulled up to an intersection.

"Yeah, or get Josh on to him," laughed the brunette, at the idea of asking Josh to play protector for her. The guy who had called her high pants, mole and bitch many times. "That kiss was icing on the cake. Hopefully on Monday, it will have gotten through his fat head."

"Let's hope," said Shannon, as she quietened down to focus on her driving.

The kiss she had placed on Stella's forehead, while it had been improvisation for the situation, Shannon had wanted to do it long before Stella asked her to 'go along with it for the moment'. It had had an effect on Stella as well, giving her goose-bumps up her arms and unintentionally pushing her closer to her companion. It made her attraction to her best friend only that much stronger.

The boys already had the party in full swing by the time the girls rocked up at O'Malleys. For once, Kerry was there, and so was Leon's intern Audrey (who made lovey-dovey eyes at Michael all night as he tried to flirt shamelessly with Stella). It was a rare occasion to see the team out drinking without Lawson.

Stella was starting her first beer when she realised that Lawson wasn't there.

"Hey, where's Lawson?"

"Still at the base, torturing himself over the latest tragedy," said Josh, overdramatising the situation. The rest of them laughed.

"Can I borrow your car quickly?" whispered Stella to Shannon, who looked at the younger woman curiously but handed over her keys nonetheless.

"You better come back!" demanded Shannon.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks," said Stella, trying not to rush out the door and speed to the TR base.

She found Lawson five minutes later in the garage with the cars going over the inventory in the back of each vehicle. As soon as he heard footsteps, he turned expecting Kerry to drag him out to the pub. Instead he sighed when Stella entered through the old wooden doors.

"Hey Lawson, I wanted to catch you before you left."

"Oh yeah, what is it?" he asked, not really in the mood to be dealing with her at the moment.

"I want back in," she said quickly, feeling that if she didn't say it fast enough, she wouldn't say it at all.

Lawson stood up straight over the bean-bag shotgun duffle bag. "Stel, you left."

"I can't do anything else, I want this," said Stella, determined to win her job back.

He looked at her sympathetically, as if he was mulling the decision over in his head. Then he simply turned and walked away, leaving her there defeated.

Stella shook her head in disappointment and went back to the pub, handing Shannon her keys as soon as she arrived.

"Where did you go?" asked Dom. This got everyone else's attention.

"Nowhere," she answered, taking the shot of tequila Leon was offering and tipping her head back, revelling in the burning sensation it left as it went down her throat.

"You went to see Lawson, didn't you?" asked Josh, a pensive look on his face. Either that or he had consumed a rather large amount of alcohol.

"Yep."

The 'p' popped rather loudly in the silence of the group.

"What did he say?" asked Michael. It was as if everyone knew where she had gone, and what she had asked. The only thing they didn't know, the only thing the really wanted to know was the answer to what she had asked.

'_What is with the third degree?' _thought Stella.

"He didn't say anything," she replied, thinking that her beer glass was too small and the fluid inside wasn't strong enough.

"Seriously, Stel, what did he say?" came again from Michael.

Kerry, Shannon, Christian and Leon remained quiet as the slight interrogation went on.

"Nothing. He literally said nothing."

Everyone went home with a slight damper on their spirits four hours later.

* * *

It wasn't until nearly another month of more dating attempts from Detective Stone, that Stella finally got her answer from Lawson, or more like her answer from the highest in charge at Tactical Response. She was only two hours into her eight hour shift, sitting across from a disgruntled Lynette who complained about the pain in her leg.

At the Unit's base, the team was gearing up to set out on patrol. Lawson threw a questioning look to Kerry during their debrief an hour before their shift was scheduled to start; they were there early to catch up on the paperwork the Inspector had demanded be finished before they go out. She responded with a nod.

"Okay, guys, with Dom out we're down to five team members. For this morning, you're in pairs; Christian and Josh in TR2, and Michael and Lawson in TR1," explained Kerry, expecting a look from Shannon. "Shannon, you're with me now."

Shannon took a look at her team mates and friends, before hurrying after Kerry, who was carrying a thick yellow envelope in her hands to the garage.

"You won't need your ballistics vest, Shan, just your uniform," said the Inspector as they passed the locker room and Shannon detoured to replace her vest in her locker.

Kerry threw her the keys a moment later from the passenger side, before getting in.

"Where are we going?" she asked once she settled herself in the driver's seat.

"You are going to drive us to Preston Police Station."

"Preston? What are we going out there for?" she asked, the car rolling out onto the main road as Shannon sped up.

"I have transfer papers here that say Stella can come back," said Kerry.

"Lawson agreed to let her come back?" asked Shannon, a smile growing on her face.

Kerry smiled back. "We need an extra person with Dom gone, and letting her come back means that the Academy doesn't have to spend a million dollars to train a recruit to the standards we need."

"Why am I going with you? Isn't this the kind of thing Lawson should be doing?" asked Shannon.

"Unsurprisingly, Shannon, you're the only one caught up on your paperwork."

She laughed at the thought of Josh and Lawson being behind on paperwork.

When they pulled up into the parking lot of the station, Kerry asked Shannon to follow her lead, that she didn't need to get into a pissing contest with a desk jockey in charge of a bunch of amateurs. She received a nod in reply and motioned for the sergeant to follow her in.

The receptionist was helpful and directed them to Senior Sergeant Charlie Harris's office. Shannon looked around the small station, spotting Stella almost instantly. The detective was leaning over her desk yet again.

Shannon felt her blood boil in anger and jealousy.

Sam looked up and spotted her, grinning smugly.

"Hey, look it's your girlfriend," he said loudly, getting the attention of most of the officers in the bullpen, including Kerry and Stella.

"Do I want to know?" asked Kerry.

"He was or still is bothering Stella, keeps asking her out. She thought if he saw she was taken, that is by me, he would drop it. Stel asked me to pretend to be her girlfriend to get Stone of her back, and apparently it didn't work," explained Shannon, maintaining eye contact with her boss.

"So he's been harassing her?"

"I told her to report him over a month ago. She thinks he's harmless."

"Well, she won't have to worry about him anymore after this morning," said Kerry, knocking on Harris's door.

He yelled loudly for them to enter and Kerry proceeded to explain to him for fifteen minutes that Stella had been selected to return to TR to fill the number requirements set. He was reluctant to give her up, she was always on top of her paperwork and comfortable out in the field, better than most of the officers under his command. Shannon remained standing behind the seat Kerry had taken, hands behind her back and her feet shoulder width apart, watching quietly.

Kerry told Shannon to hurriedly help Stella pack up her desk. Shannon eagerly left the office and strode across the bullpen, standing out from the rest of them due to her navy blue uniform.

"What are you doing here?" asked Stella, pushing past Sam to give Shannon a hug.

"Kerry wants me to help you to pack up your desk," explained Shannon, keeping her face straight as she waited for Stella to understand. It didn't take long for her to smile.

"Lawson said I could come back?"

"Yep, so hurry up," smiled Shannon.

Sam looked sour and angry, but tried one last time. "Hey Stella, can I take you out to dinner tonight to celebrate?"

"Nope," said Shannon, smiling at him, hands on her hips.

Kerry walked out of the office, shaking Harris's hand and continued to Stella's desk.

"Whatever paperwork you haven't finished, bring it with you. You'll be on desk duty until to you finish this and your paperwork for TR," explained Kerry. She saw Lynette staring as asked, "How's the leg?"

"Healing. Thanks for asking," she answered, upset that her first partner was leaving her alone.

Stella didn't care that she was on desk duty at TR, but ecstatic that she was returning to TR. She couldn't wait to get back into the traditional TR uniform, back to what she knew. She left to fetch a box from the store room to put all of her things in. While she was gone, Kerry stopped ignoring Stone and turned to talk to him.

"So, you're the detective Stella's been talking about?" she asked, turning to face him. Shannon turned her head to watch the conversation and Sam threw a glace to Shannon, unsure if he wanted to have this particular conversation with Stella's boss while her 'girlfriend' was standing next to them. He did.

"So she's been talking about me?" he said cockily.

"Oh, yeah. Apparently, you're a bit of a try-hard who doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'no', even after Stella told you she wasn't single. You do know the meaning of the word 'no', don't you?"

The smile fell from his face as Shannon's grew. Stella walked back into the conversation at this point.

"Yes, I do," he said, grimacing at Kerry's attitude. His face contorted with embarrassment and fear.

"No, you don't, otherwise you would have stopped harassing her about a date. If I find out that you've come anywhere near her, there will be hell to pay. You got me?"

She had her serious face on. Shannon was sure he was going to piss himself. Stella was a little lost as to what was going on.

He gulped and nodded before scurrying away to hide in his office.

"Do I want to know?" asked Stella, as they walked out of the building towards the car. Shannon was still laughing quietly at the way Kerry was able to turn a cocky thirty-something year old man into a whimpering mess.

"Let's just say, he won't be bothering you anymore," said Kerry, as they slipped into the car.

When they arrived back at base, the mandatory hour Kerry had set for the boys to finish their paperwork was up and the TR vehicles were gone.

"Seeing as the boys are gone, Shannon, you can help Stella get set up to finish her paperwork. You know what? You can help her finish the paperwork too. Oh, an apparently, you owe Leon quite a few spooning sessions, Stel."

Shannon and Stella laughed as Kerry walked away to the offices in the back.

"Your uniform is in your locker, too," came down the corridor.

"I better get changed," said Stella, lugging her box of things and her bag off to the locker room, to get changed.

"Give me paperwork and I'll go find us a desk," suggested Shannon, taking the paperwork up to the offices, leaving Stella to grin stupidly as she changed into her TR uniform.

The boys came back at lunch to pick Shannon up for patrol and found Stella bent over the desk next to Leon's filling out the last page of her general duties paperwork to be sent back to the station later that day.

As soon as they saw her, Josh thumped her on the shoulder and offered a "Welcome back, you mole!" They roared with laughter, and gave her hugs, Lawson watching them from the doorway with Kerry and Shannon, nodding to Stella when she made eye contact.

They smiled to each other knowingly, a 'thank you' twinkling in Stella's eyes. Michael was the last to give her a hug and was rather hesitant about it, as he was still harbouring feelings for her. Audrey threw a greasy look to the back of Stella's head.

It had taken Stella nearly three solid days of desk duty to finish all of her paperwork, with the help of Leon, Shannon and Kerry. Finally after completing the requirements of field training and first aid, Lawson had agreed that she was considered fit to return to active duty and was promptly put into TR2 with Josh and Shannon that morning in briefing.

There was no major activity flittering across the VKC, and Josh and Shannon sat comfortably as passengers in the car as Stella drove aimlessly until Josh took a VKC call. A petty thief, who had pulled a gun on a local shopkeeper, had been spotted near the Melbourne Aquatic Centre and sprinted into the building after jumping the ten foot spiked fence. Josh and Stella followed and Shannon took the car around the front.

As they performed their routine patterns of searching the building, Stella had encountered a mirror and accidentally discharged at the sight of a gun, only to swear at herself once she realised it was only her reflection. Within ten minutes, Josh was dragging the offender past Stella, flex cuffs keeping his hands behind his back, towards the door they had entered through.

"Was that you that fired?" he asked, as she grabbed the offenders other elbow and steered him out.

"Yeah, it was an accident."

"How is firing your gun an accident?"

"It was a mirror. I saw my gun in the mirror and just reacted, Josh. It was an accident," she said firmly, handing the thief off to the uniformed officers who had only just arrived.

"Okay," said Josh, deeming the situation handled.

That was until Lawson arrived with Michael and Christian, and proceeded to give her the third degree as soon as he got out of the car. She had wanted to avoid this confrontation.

"Hey, hey," he said, throwing his arms out in a way that said 'what the hell happened in there?'

"It was just an accident Lawson," she smiled, crossing her arms.

"What? Accidental discharge? You just sight the weapon in the mirror?" he asked, as his body let off waves of anger.

"What's the difference?" he asked innocently, the smile slightly fading from her face. "It's just a mirror."

"Discharging your weapon is a big deal, Stel. I thought you of all people would understand that," he said.

It was a low blow, but she refused to snap, knowing it would put her mental state into question.

"You know what your problem is Lawson?"

"What?"

"You can't let a thing, just be a thing. It has to mean all these other things."

Now she was angry, and turned away to plop herself into the driver's seat of TR2. He looked around for Josh as she slammed the door. Shannon was already in the car and she, Michael and Christian had been watching the exchange take place.

"Are you okay?" asked the Sergeant, leaning over the front passenger seat to look at her friend.

"He's already questioning everything I'm doing and I've only been on active duty for the past hour and a half," she said, shaking her head at her boss's antics.

"He just wants to make sure that you know your moves will be scrutinized because of everything that has happened. He wants you to be okay when you do your job because the rest of us rely on you just as much as you rely on us. Okay?" explained Shannon, hitting her lightly on the shoulder, eyebrows raised as she waited for confirmation that Stella understood.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

Michael watched with longing as Stella was pulled up on her actions, hoping she was okay, wanting to comfort her but knew that she would reject his advances yet again.

Outside the vehicle, Josh was stopped by Lawson from getting into the car.

"Is she a bit jumpy or what?" he asked, nodding his head to the car.

"Nah, she's been fine," replied Josh, shrugging off the boss.

"Alright, keep an eye on her."

Michael yelled out, and within seconds TR1 was speeding away from the Aquatic Centre to a residential assault.

Leon came across the comms not a minute after TR2 had merged into the local traffic.

"Hey Stel, you okay?"

"Yep." She was getting a kick out of making the 'p' pop every time she said it.

"Shoot yourself?"

They could hear the smile in his voice and Stella laughed back.

"Well done."

"How many years bad luck is that?"

"About seven years of Lawson on my back," came back to Kerry and Leon, and even Josh sniggered at that comment.

"I don't think your luck is going to change anytime soon, there is nothing over the scanners, so you guys can go for coffee, I think," he suggested, earning a nod from Kerry.

They found a cafe quickly and Shannon hopped out to buy three cappuccinos.

"Hey!" yelled Josh grinned, out of his open window. "It's Stel's first day back, therefore, it's her shout."

"If anything, my luck just got worse," she said grimly, and pulled a twenty dollar note out of her wallet, handing it to Shannon over Josh.

Shannon smiled sweetly and took the money, walking off to purchase their coffee's.

The rest of their shift went slowly and quietly, nothing requiring the attention of The Tactical Response Unit that uniforms couldn't handle. They spent most of their time, joking with Leon over the comm's.

At the end of their shift after their routine debriefing, Shannon had turned to Stella and handed her the crisp twenty dollar note she had given the older woman earlier for coffee.

"I wasn't going to take your money on the first day back. That's why you didn't get any change," she explained, leaning against Michael's locker.

"Come on, then. Dinner, my shout," said Stella, linking arms with Shannon, walking out to the parking lot.

Everything seemed to be getting back to normal for Stella, everything except her relationship with Shannon which was slowly changing. However, the young woman was unable to tell if the change was good or bad.

* * *

**So what do you guys think about this chapter? R&R please?**


	5. The Question

**Finally chapter four. Please ignore any spelling mistakes and enjoy. hopefully the next chapter will be up by friday at the latest, I just have to finish writing it!**

**PS Appreciate the reviews guys, keep 'em coming :)**

* * *

Before their debriefing at the end of their shift, Lawson made Stella sit down with Kerry and explain why she had accidentally discharged her weapon into a mirror while searching for an offender. It didn't take Kerry long to believe her, but still forced her to write up a report half an hour later when everyone else, including Leon, had already gone home. Typically, Lawson was still at the base, maps and plans spread out across two desks, muttering to himself.

When he couldn't think anymore, he walked away from the desks to get himself a cup of coffee, only to find Stella, report laying forgotten on her table, watching the lapel camera footage from the night of the shooting in Leon's armchair.

"You're just reliving your nightmare," he said, coffee in hand.

Stella didn't look away from the footage, but felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she was the innocent man fall to the floor dead in a back row. The offender fell not a split second later.

"I guess I'm still trying to understand it, to an extent. Just trying to accept that I'm responsible, but that it was accident," she said slowly, finally turning to look at Lawson, pausing the footage on the big screen hanging on the wall. "It's been nearly three months, and I'm starting to get it, Lawson."

Her voice went quiet, and Lawson took Audrey's empty seat next to Stella, staring at the screen.

"You know why I am and will be so hard on you for the moment, right?"

"You want to make sure that I have everyone's back, that I'm not going to break, and so that I know I'm being watched more closely," she said. Shannon's words from earlier in the day came flooding back to her and Stella repeated them automatically, just to see if the older woman was right.

She was.

"Pretty much," said Lawson. "What happened that night" he pointed to the screen "can affect anyone in any number of ways. You walked away two months ago. But you came back, ready to take it all on, like all you needed was some time away from this job. Does it feel like most of the weight has been lifted?"

"Most," she answered.

"Good. I'm glad you came back, Stel," he said, patting her on the shoulder and returning to his own desk. "Finish your report tomorrow. Go home."

Her eyes followed him back to his desk, watching for a moment before glancing at her watch. She had been staring at the death of Nicholas Dennis for two hours. Her shift officially ended four hours before, but they had only finished their debriefing an hour later.

She stood up, stretched and felt her back pop several times satisfactorily. She filed her report in Kerry's in-tray with a post-it note on top.

'_Will finish tomorrow -Stella.'_

She pulled her bag from her locker and trudged out into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Stella had been getting more sleep since returning to work at the Tactical Response. She was still averaging four to five hours a night. She arrived early at work the following day to complete her report, finishing it with ease after her talk with Lawson the night before. It didn't take long before other members of the team arrived, Michael was late after a night out with the boys and Josh arrived with Leon having picked him up on the way in.

Josh and Stella were double checking the inventory in the back of TR2, having a comfortable conversation as they went.

"So you and Shannon have been spending a lot of time together," he said, smirking at her. "Anything I should know?"

"Gossip Queen. Anything you _should_ know, or anything you _want _to know?" retorted Stella.

"Ooh. So it's like that. Are you sleeping with her?"

The coffee she had taken a sip of quickly came out of her mouth and onto the garage floor. Josh simply laughed at her.

"Did you have to ask that while I had something in my mouth?" she scolded, punching him on the arm as he bent over in his fit of giggles.

"Yes," he struggled to get out, watching as Shannon looked down the hallway at them as she entered the bathroom.

"No, I am not. There is nothing going on, Josh. You know very well that she doesn't dig chicks," she argued, once Josh straightened up.

"She might not dig chicks, but I can tell she digs you," he said, smiling.

"Bullshit," she exclaimed, her hands automatically dropping the folder she was holding on top of a bag. "How can you tell?"

"Why do you think I'm not sleeping with her?"

"You serious or are you yanking my chain?" she asked, jokes aside as her face turned serious.

"I ain't yanking anything of yours," he said, offended at the idea, "but yes, I am being serious."

Stella stopped to think for a moment, staring into space. Her conversation with Shannon from over two months ago came flooding back to her and a look of realisation took over her features.

_"What's new with you? We haven't really talked since just before the shooting," said Stella, suddenly avoiding eye contact. Shannon could see a slight smirk on her face. "You still hooking up with Josh?"_

_"Nah, that ended months ago. I've kinda of had my mind on someone else for a while. That and I was sick of meaningless sex, despite how amazingly mind-blowing it was," she explained, slightly blushing as she reached across the small table for the bottle of wine._

_"So, what? You're off sex?" Stella sounded slightly abashed._

_"A vow of celibacy for one year. I'm three months in," said Shannon, as if proud of herself._

_"Regret it yet?" asked Stella, a cocky grin on her face, the size of her pupils suggesting her was well on her way to a hangover the next morning._

_"No," smiled Shannon, giggling along with her friend. "Not yet."_

_"So who is this other person you've had your eye on?" was asked after a few minutes silence, the only sound coming from knives and forks on the ceramic plates. Curiosity had killed the cat and was close to killing Stella as well._

_"Oh, it's no one. Let me ask you something. How did you know that you were interested in women?"_

_Stella had not been expecting that kind of question and the piece of chicken she was aiming for her mouth missed completely._

_"I just did. I don't think there was ever a specific moment. I just don't apply the boundaries of sexuality to myself I guess. Is this an interest in my personal history, or are you experiencing something?"_

_"I dunno. I'm not sure yet," said Shannon, shrugging her shoulders. Stella smiled. "Let's move on, shall we?"_

"Holy shit," she breathed out.

"Now she gets it," said Josh, throwing his arms out in mock relief. "So, what are you going to do?"

"What?"

"I thought you were fast. Come on," he commented, snapping his fingers in front of her face. "What are you going to do about Shannon liking you?"

She looked dumbfounded and nervous; Shannon was walking towards the car zipping up the pocket holding her mobile phone.

"Are we ready?"

Stella looked as Josh who nodded, moving to close the boot. He quickly whispered to Stella, "I give you fifty bucks if you to ask her out and go through with it," and moved passed to get into the passenger seat.

Stella stood still as TR1 reversed out and took off, a piece of paper bounced off of her head and she flipped Josh off, getting into the driver's seat and taking off.

"You okay, Stel?" asked Shannon, looking at the TR building as they merged into traffic.

Stella's mouth went dry, she gulped and breathed deep trying to calm herself. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Josh sat there smirking until Leon came over their comm's who told them about a disturbance outside the Recreation Hotel. When they arrived five minutes later thanks to Stella's driving, pub patrons were trying to fight off a group of young racists.

After getting to the middle of the scuffle and separated most of them, the patrons back into the pub and the young drunk men outside, Josh set Shannon and Stella the task of manning the door with the three uniformed officers, as he went inside to talk to the owner.

"Shan, Stel, on the door. No one goes in or out!" he yelled, slamming the doors behind him.

One of the drunken louts outside the pub took an instant liking to Stella, laughing as she used all of her strength to push him back, her hands slipping against his traditional navy blue singlet of a tradesman. Seeing as the patrons were locals, several of them knew about the back entrance. Apparently, so did the guys outside, as they pushed passed Shannon and Stella and took off for the alley.

The two women shared a look, sighed and chased after them, meeting up with Josh and the majority of the patrons.

Three officers against thirty-odd pissed off drunks was not a fair fight, Stella learning that the hard way. The owner of the pub was suddenly hanging over Stella's shoulder, making it increasingly difficult to hold back the guy in the singlet and keep them apart.

"JOSH!" she yelled, turning to put her strength into pushing the owner away, leaving the young man behind her to pull his fist back.

Although he was aiming for Edward the pub owner, his fisted landed directly on her nose, causing a large amount of blood to quickly gush out. He stumbled back realising he had just assaulted a police officer, and stumbled back even further when Shannon punched him. Twice.

He went down hard and the overflow of testosterone disappeared almost as quickly as the voices of the drunks did.

"Piss off," she said, moving back to her original position between the groups.

"Ha! You're not so tough now, are you?" someone yelled from the back of the group of patrons. The rest of them laughed at him, as his mates tried to help him up.

Stella had one hand against the wall of the building next to the pub, the other clamping her nose closed.

"Stel, you right?" asked Josh, keeping a grip on one of the patrons.

"Yeah," she breathed, testing herself as she slowly removed her hand, a sickly feeling washing over her as she felt the clumps of blood run freely down her face. A tissue was handed to her, and she gratefully took it, pushing it to her nose and seeing her hands now smeared with blood.

"You lot, back inside! Now! Or I'll arrest you all!" yelled Josh, pushing the patrons back in through the door. Shannon pushed the other group back when several of them tried to follow.

According to Stella, uniforms had a habit of turning up at situations after they had been dealt with by TR teams. Her nose had finally stopped bleeding as she smiled, watching Josh flex cuff the guy who had hit her, sitting him down against the pub wall.

Kerry's voice came over their ear pieces.

"Hey, guys. Do you need reinforcements?"

"Nah, we're good," answered Josh.

"Are you sure you don't want some back up?"

"We've already closed it down, it's fine."

Stella and Shannon were watching with matching grins.

"What about Stella's friend there?" asked Kerry. Leon had their lapel camera footage on the big screen in the offices, and they both watched as Shannon knocked out the offender.

"I'll get one of the uniforms to take him."

"How's Stella?"

"What's with all of the questions? It's only Stella?" Josh said to the girls earning a smile, before answering Kerry. "Ah, she'll live."

"Do you want to tell Shannon to tone it down a bit? She's giving us a bad name!"

They all sniggered and Stella pushed Shannon jokingly.

"You right?" asked Josh.

"Peachy," retorted Stella.

"Hey Stel, go change your shirt. Shan, get their rego's and ID's, get the uniforms to help you breathalyse the lot of them before they go anywhere," ordered the Senior Sergeant, watching Stella walk off to the car, Shannon to the closest uniformed officer, as he pulled up the offender responsible for punching Stella and handing him off to another officer.

"Hey, mate, you know I never meant to hit her. That old wog's a stupid prick, man. You'd hit him too if you had a chance," he yelled, as he was helped into the back of a marked police car.

Stella offered to send some fines to the pub owner as she changed her shirt and directed him back towards the doors. The bogan pride, referred to by Josh as two sped away, soon dissipated and they got back into TR2, waiting for a new assignment as Stella drove off.

Josh's phone went off, and while he didn't recognise the number, he answered it anyway.

"Minka? Which pier are you at?"

Shannon and Stella shared a look through the rear view mirror as Josh ordered Stella down to the St Kilda pier.

As she drove down the worn pier, Josh quickly spotted Minka near some stairs to the water level.

"This is your emergency?" asked Stella.

The fourteen year old had taken an immediate liking to him after he rescued her and returned her to her mother. Minka had been kidnapped by drug dealers when her uncle refused to transport their drugs using his truck. From the car, according to Michael, Josh had seemed a little awestruck when he met Minka's mother Tash as he took the girl up to her house.

"I'll just be a minute."

"Is this on the clock?" asked Shannon, bother her and Stella getting out and following.

He fixed them with a glare and they went back to the car, leaning against the side and watching. The girl began to get angry with him when he seemed unhappy to be there. He offered her money for a cab home, but she refused and Josh walked away, tipping out the contents of the Vodka bottle over the edge.

Upset and drink, Minka jumped off the pier to Shannon and Stella's horror. There were hundreds of boats and yachts in the bay, all with anchors down, and the pier no doubt had rusty and algae covered spikes sticking out at odd angles.

They rushed forward, but Josh threw out a hand to stop them and walked down the stairs, yelling at Minka to swim, because he wasn't getting in after her.

"There's a cafe up across from the pier, go for some coffee," said Josh, which came across as more than an order than a suggestion. He had set Minka up with a blanket and a seat in the boot of the car.

"Are you going to be alright with this?" asked Shannon.

"Yeah, just disappear for ten minutes."

The breeze from the water was icy, and the two women dugs their hands into their pockets and began the walk back up the pier.

"What in the hell is going on with him and that girl?"

"I think it's more what is she trying to orchestrate between Josh and her mother?" said Stella, rephrasing Shannon's original question.

"True."

"Hey, speaking of relationships, or lack thereof, you never told me who it was that you liked," pried Stella, trying to suss out if Josh had been telling the truth.

"What?"

Shannon was a little lost at what Stella was talking about, but was getting more nervous at the topic she was heading towards.

"That night you came over, when I was waiting for my transfer papers for Preston to go through, you said that you had your eye one some, but you brushed it off. _'Oh it's no one,'_" said Stella, quoting the older woman from their dinner night.

Shannon smiled awkwardly and closed her eyes, wishing for the moment to end. She breathed deeply, simply refusing to answer.

"Come on, tell me," she nudged Shannon with her elbow, not wanting to take her hands out of her pockets.

"You're not going to drop it, are you?"

"Nope, so you may as well just tell me. Or I'll have to ask Leon to take a snoop into your phone records," she joked.

Shannon stopped halfway up the pier, turning to look at Josh and Minka as the smile faded from her face.

"I only joking about the whole phone records thing," said Stella, thinking she had upset Shannon.

"It's you."

"What's me?"

"The person I like," confessed Shannon, before continuing to walk up the pier. "It's you."

'_Josh was right,' _thought Stella, before chasing after the older woman. "Why didn't tell me?"

"Because I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if it was real or if it was because we were spending time together. I didn't want to get my heart broken," admitted Shannon, her voice getting quieter.

"You think I would break your heart?"

Stella felt something crack inside, something she hadn't felt since Alana had left; her own heart breaking.

"No, I don't think you would break my heart," said Shannon.

"I don't understand."

"I think that I would break your heart, and the _idea of that_ breaks my heart." She sighed loudly. "I didn't want to tell you in case it ruined everything, our friendship, our working relationship."

"Shannon. Josh has known how I feel for a long time," she started, but it sounded wrong. "I don't mean to say that I like him, that's just gross. But he knows that I like you. That's what we were talking about this morning when we were checking the gear."

"You like me?"

"Yep." The 'p' popped once again and Shannon swallowed loudly, giving a half-hearted laugh as she took in what she had just been told.

They stopped outside a small cafe and started at each other. Shannon was having some difficulty trying to determine if Stella was telling the truth. She had a reputation for being a bit of a player. The sergeant decided there and then on the spot, that she should take the chance, even if she couldn't tell.

They went into the cafe in silence, ordering to go, and left quietly, not speaking to each other.

"How long have you liked me?" asked Stella, smiling playfully and wrapping her hands around her cup of coffee.

"Since you handed me my ballistics vest on my first day," answered Shannon, truthfully and trying not to blush. Stella let out a small laugh and they crossed the road back to the pier.

"Can I take you out tonight?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Shannon received an enthusiastic nod in return. "Okay, but answer me this."

"Okay, if you promise me something."

"How long have _you_ liked_ me_?"

"I can't pinpoint it," said Stella. The look on her face showed her honesty, the look in her eyes a genuine softness that was rare in the young Senior Constable. "But I'm pretty sure it got stronger the night you stayed over, after Napthorn questioned me. Just lying there with you, it felt good. It felt right. What?"

"I've never seen you be so sappy," smiled Shannon, poking the brunette with a cold finger.

"Hey, you asked. I thought it might be a good start if I was honest, but you want to make fun of me, so..."

Stella trailed off and walked faster, pretending to be mad at Shannon, but let her catch up.

"What about your promise?"

Stella stopped and turned to Shannon. Their walk both up and back down the pier had gone relatively fast, both women engrossed in their conversation. They were nearly at the car and Josh and Minka were still in the boot of the car. Stella took a deep breath and told Shannon

"If we do do this, make a go of it I mean, just promise me that you'll tell me if it feels more like an experiment than a relationship? I've been through some shit in the last few months, and the only thing that really made me happy was coming back to TR, because it meant I got to see you every day. I know it's quite a bit to dump on you and we haven't even gone out on a real date yet, but I would rather you be upfront, than lead me on."

Shannon's eyes had begun to tear up.

"I can promise you now, that this is not experimental, despite the fact that you are the first woman I would have ever been with. I really like you, Stella. I'm not going to mess with you about this. I _really, really_ like you," promised Shannon, emphasising just how much and how hard she was crushing on the younger woman standing in front of her.

"Really, really, huh? Two 'really's'? You must be serious," joked Stella, pulling Shannon toward the car. She smiled and laughed along.

They spend five minutes in comfortable silence leaning against the barriers near the stairs, waiting for Josh and Minka and then took the teen home. Michael wasn't kidding when he said Josh was awestruck when meeting Tash. Now they seemed awkward from the view in the car.

"This is VKC, requesting response to a disturbance at Ted's Mini Golf and Arcade."

"This is TR2, we'll take that," Shannon answered, as Stella did ran to get Josh. Shannon pulled out the Melways to direct her to the address Leon sent through.

"So what's the story, Leon?" asked Shannon, from the back seat.

Stella backed out and sped off back the way they came.

"Apparently a woman walked in looking for her kids, saw them with their father and started screaming something about kidnapping them."

"Mini golf?" asked Shannon, not looking up.

"What? You don't like it?" she asked

"Never been," she answered, looking out the window for a road sign. "Take a left at the next intersection, Stel."

"Never?" The idea of a child never experiencing mini golf was ludicrous to Stella.

"Nope, mum was always working and dad was never around. By the time mum remarried, I was older and had better things to do with my friends. I wasn't into the arcade or minigolf. I was a bookworm. Right down Gerald Street."

"Ah, guys you might want to hurry up," said Leon. "The woman had taken a golf club to the ex-husband and he's trying to protect the kids."

Stella scoffed from the front seat, "The things people do to get custody of the kids."

"Step on it, Stel," said Josh, sitting calmly as the car pushed over 120 kilometres per hour down the highway.

Ten minutes later, once again thanks to Stella's driving, they arrived at Ted's Mini Golf and Arcade and could hear the woman yelling from outside the compound. Running through the front door, they saw a worker and he pointed straight out the automatic doors that led to the golf course.

There they saw a balding man on his knees, two small kids behind him looking scared as their mother, a short blond woman held a mini gold putter at him. The man had a small gash across his forehead, but a rather large bruise and was looking slightly dizzy and unable to focus. Josh turned to the manager who had several staff members keeping people back as they arrived.

Josh turned to Shannon and Stella, and directed them silently towards spots with good views and good access.

"You the manager?" asked Josh.

"Manager and owner, Ted Potter," he said, shaking Josh's hand.

"What happened?" asked Josh, holding down his comm's button for the girls to hear.

"Dad and the kids were fine, just started a round on the outside course. Then twenty minutes later, mum rocks up and starts screaming that the kids had been kidnapped. The she grabbed a club of a kid nearby and hit him with it," he explained.

"Did it seem to you that the kids had been kidnapped?"

"No, they seemed happy to be with their dad. If he did kidnap them, why would he bring them here? Why not make a run for it?"

"Okay, just keep everyone back. Shannon, you take point on this," said Josh, pulling out his taser instead of his glock.

"Excuse me. I'm Sergeant Shannon Henry," she started.

"This bastard kidnapped my kids!" yelled the woman.

"What's your name?"

"Emma. Toms. Emma Toms," she answered. Her husband moved to stand, and she pulled back the club, ready to hit him again.

"Emma! Emma! Just talk to me, don't look at him, talk to me," said Shannon, hand raised in warning. "What can I do for you?

"I want my kids back!"

"You want them back. You want them back safely and happy?" asked Shannon.

All three TR members could see her falter as she nodded.

"Well, this is not the way to do it. Your kids are scared. Scared because of what their mum is doing right now."

"He took them. From my mother's house! The judge said we needed permission from my mother. Their only grandmother. They're staying with her while we sort out the custody of the kids!" she yelled, brandishing the club at him again.

"She said I could take them for the day! They wanted to see me!"

"What's your name, sir?"

"Jake Toms."

"Alright, Jake, you need to be quiet, right now. Can you do that?"

"Sure," his grip on his kids tightened slightly.

"Emma, your kids are really scared at the moment. How about you put down the club and let us make sure they're okay?" suggested Shannon.

The hostage situation was quickly diffused as Shannon was told to negotiate and used the kids as leverage. Once Emma Toms realised that this could end her time with her kids, she put the club down and was quickly arrested. Shannon was watching the kids, talking about their game of golf with their dad and what had happened when their mother arrived yelling and screaming.

Stella watched from a distance as the Shannon laughed at something the little boy had said, turned to Josh and told him she was going to find a bathroom.

"Question the manager while you're in there, Stel," said Josh, who was standing next to the ambulance as the officer looked at the head wound on the father.

She went looking for the manager and quickly found him trying to reassure his customers.

"Ted, can I have a word?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Anything you need."

After discussing the hostage situation, Stella turned the conversation to a more personal matter.

"Off the record and out of curiosity, do you hire out the course to parties and such?" she asked.

"Sometime, it depends how desperate the parents are," he joked, smiling casually. "You need it for a kids party?"

"Not quite," she smiled.

* * *

"Guys, there has been a report of shots fired of the Recreation Hotel," said Leon, and TR2 could hear the tapping of Leon's fingers across his keyboard.

"Go," was all that Josh said, turning on the lights and sirens again.

The pub owner from that morning, Edward, had shot the young man who had punched Stella, who was now lying in the doorway of the hotel, bleeding from the shoulder. Josh put Stella in charge of negotiations, and Shannon was given the rifle to cover the door. Josh took care of the visuals.

"Hi Edward, this is Senior Constable Stella Dagostino, we were here this morning," she introduced herself.

"Oh yeah you're the one who got punched."

"Oh yeah, that was me. Now look. I know there is an injured man in your pub and I need to know what happened."

"Looks like someone shot the bastard," he said, sarcastically.

"We're you involved in that Edward? Are you alright, Edward?"

"Yeah, I'm fit as a fiddle. How's your nose?"

"Yeah it's fine, thanks, but that man looks like he needs some medical attention," she explained, looking through the windows of the car at the young man lying on his side.

"Don't you recognise him?" asked Edward.

"I do, he looks like the man who hit me, and I would like to get him some help, okay?"

You know, I thought you folks took things like this kind of seriously, yet here he is a couple hours after you've arrested him. What does that tell you?"

"That no cares about modelling career."

She earned a light laugh from Edward. She was able to gain his trust enough to allow Josh to go and collect the man from the door and to the ambulance.

TR1 joined them shortly after and Lawson took over for Josh. Christian and Michael were set the task of watching the back door. After Edward hung up on Stella, a gun went off from inside the pub, and everyone instinctively ducked down. There was no answer over the phone or through the front door. Josh suggested the siren ball, Lawson handed it to Shannon and told her to have Michael throw it.

It took Michael two attempts to get the siren ball through the door window, having to smash it with a piece of wood on the second attempt. As soon as Lawson had turned it off, they stormed the building and found his shotgun behind the bar. They found him in the cellar with a gunshot wound holding a knife.

Despite what her boss had told her prior to storming the building, Stella trusted Edward and he willingly handed over the knife and allowed Lawson to handcuff him. He scolded her outside as they were returning to the car. Shannon was leaning against TR1.

"Lawson, it all ended up okay," she said.

"Just write up your report," he dismissed.

"I knew that I was doing in there, okay?"

"Really?" Lawson was being sarcastic now.

"Look, he wanted someone to trust him, I did, and it was okay," she said, stopping.

"You write that in your report," he said, pointing at her to add emphasis, and he walked away.

They walked to the cars to leave.

"Go Maverick," she retorted, getting into the back seat.

Thankfully, their shift was over and all they had to do was write up their reports, which took everyone well over an hour. TR2 had attended to two high level situations that required every bit of detail. As Shannon pulled on her jacket, she turned to Stella.

"What are we doing tonight?"

Stella smiled back to her, happy about her chance to prove herself.

"You'll see."

* * *

**okay, what did you think?**


	6. The First Date

Oh hey, look, it's up two days early. I wanted to get this up before work and I was up until three am this morning finishing most of the chapter. Okay so I didn't actually intend for this chapter to bee over six thousand words long, it just kind of happened. So I'm sorry about the pain in the arse length, any spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, I was half asleep and drinking when I wrote this :)

Vicky: Thanks for the vote of confidence haha

Rushforlife: I don't plan to stop until I've finished the story, so I think your hopes are safe :)

In A Rush: It came early mainly because I didn't want to squash your hopes about friday.

TheSweetestThing: It's nice and long just for you (with I hope some awesom Shan/Stel parts)

HappyHereford: It was a favourite of mine too.

To all of you who comment/review: THANKS

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Their shift had finished at four and report writing at five. Stella was home by five thirty and it left her with two hours before she would hijack Shannon's car to surprise her for their first date. To say that she was beyond nervous, would have been an understatement. Shannon had asked what to wear as she dropped Stella at the door to her building.

"Something comfortable, you're going to be on your feet so no heels," she joked, as she kissed Shannon's cheek sweetly and hopped out. "I'll see you at seven thirty. Don't be late."

Sure she had been cocky and confident in the car, but now that Shannon wasn't there and wouldn't be for another two hours she could panic freely all she liked. She made several phone calls, one of which would confirm the surprise, the other to confirm a reservation at a local pub for dinner. Stella wasn't looking for a posh night out with Shannon, she was looking to enjoy herself; if she started simple and easy, she could easily outdo herself on the next date. If there was a next date.

Stella took her time to get ready, using every minute of her two hours to shower and get dressed. The weather was relatively warm, so she decided on her favourite pair of dark blue skinny jeans that hung comfortably on her hips but did not cling to her already thin legs. A faded black v-neck fitted t-shirt with her red vest over the top, and her worn pair of converse.

Her usual religious cross hung from her neck, hanging comfortably over her t-shirt, and she styled her hair with a part down one side, brushing her fringe to the side. Since her hair had grown, she didn't look like a twelve year old anymore, she decided checking herself for then seventeenth time in the bathroom mirror.

She still had twenty minutes before Shannon was scheduled to arrived and tried to calm herself down by walking the length of her apartment several times while searching her closet for a nice coat in case the weather took a turn for the worse. She spent her time wondering about the other woman.

Shannon was on the other side of the city, pulling on her black leggings as she stumbled across her bedroom. She was running late and didn't want to disappoint Stella on their first date. As she pulled her leggings up fully, Shannon rushed to pick the black and white cardigan dress over her head, and quickly spraying herself mildly with a sweet scented perfume. She hastily dried her hair, before turning it into a messy bun, stands of hair falling all over and slipped her feet into her comfiest pair of flip flops. As she checked herself in the mirror hanging from the back of her bedroom door, Shannon grabbed her keys and her bag and flew down the stairs and out to her car.

It was a fifteen minute drive to Stella's and it was already twenty past seven. She was definitely going to be late.

Stella was waiting outside the security door to her building, leaning against the brick wall, a bag that looked vaguely familiar to Shannon. She smiled as Shannon pulled up and ,"put her car in park. Walking over to the driver's side, Stella poked her head through the open window with her face only inches from Shannon's.

You look nice," said Shannon, moving her head closer to the open window to take a good look at Stella.

"Thanks. You look gorgeous," replied Stella, her eyes drifting up Shannon's arms, to studying her face before scanning her body with a sweet grin on her face, finally returning her eyes to Shannon's.

"If you want to get going, you might want to hop in," suggested Shannon, whispering as she took in Stella's smirk from close-up.

"If you want to go on this date, you might want to get into the passenger seat," replied Stella, her smile only growing at her date's confusion. The look of awkward confusion on Shannon's face prompted Stella to continue. "It's a surprise. Now get into the passenger seat."

Shannon scoffed at the gentle demand but followed it anyway.

"You know I hate surprises," stated Shannon, settling into her new seat. "Does it feel good, hijacking my car?"

"It does feel good, now you're my hostage," she joked, pulling out of the parking lot and heading off down the road. "It'll be fifteen, maybe twenty minutes depending on traffic, and then you will you find out the first part your surprise."

It took five minutes of comfortable before Shannon cracked and begun to nag about where they were going.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"Nope, you'll just have to wait."

"Pleeeaaaase?"

"You're not going to get it out of me before we get there."

Shannon pouted the best she could and Stella's smile softened at the girl next to her

"Nope."

"How about a hint?" tried Shannon.

"You really don't like surprises, do you?"

"Hate them," she answered.

"Alright, I'll give you a hint," said Stella, caving into Shannon's request and receiving the girliest squeal she had ever heard come out of the younger woman. "We were talking about it today in the car."

They turned onto the highway and Stella put her foot down to keep up with the Friday night traffic.

"That doesn't really narrow it down, Stel."

"Ah, but it does. We only really talked about five or six things that were not work related," explained the driver. "Therefore you have five or six chances of guessing where we're going."

Shannon's face innocently screwed up concentration and confusion, and Stella's heart melted at the sight, pulling the car to a stop and yanking the handbrake on.

"You love to get technical with me, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because the look you get on your face when you try to concentrate. It's adorable and I can't resist it," laughed Stella. That rare softness Shannon had seen earlier was back. She had the feeling she was going to be seeing a lot more of it if their first date went well. Shannon pouted and went back to her thinking.

Shannon was so involved in her thinking that she didn't see Stella get out of the car and walk around to the passenger side, until the door opened and a hand was lowered in front of her face.

"But before the main event, dinner!" stated Stella, chivalrously helping her date out of the car, tucking the keys into her pocket after locking it.

Across the road was a small restaurant, a pleasant, homey look emanating from it as the light shone through large open window where a wall or glass should have been. There were tables outside on the wide footpath and a bar in the middle of the room. On a Friday night, to get into a small place like this a reservation was needed. Of the two phone calls Stella had made when she got home, this was one of them.

They were quickly seated at a secluded table in the back corner and handed menus, their waiter asking what they wanted to drink.

"Glass of water, please," said Shannon.

"Make it two," smiled Stella to the waiter when he turned to her. She looked back to Shannon, "I'm driving."

"How did you find this place?"

"I think you're going to get a kick out of this," smiled Stella, smirking at the memory. "Josh told me about it."

"Josh? Our Josh? Does he even know what a restaurant looks like?"

"I don't think so. Apparently he was here with Lawson for dinner the night before the cash holding facility job."

"What exactly am I supposed to get a kick out of?" asked Shannon, waiting for the punch line.

"Besides the fact it was probably a date," started Stella sarcastically, "they did the old dine and dash. Josh 'accidentally' left his wallet at home and Lawson's credit card was maxed out. So he walked out, left Lawson sitting at the table, turned back to look through the window, and Lawson chases him and they run off. Waiter runs out after them, threatens to call the cops."

Shannon was laughing at the idea of Lawson doing something illegal like skimping out on paying for a meal.

"So they're not allowed back in?"

"Josh paid the bill the next day, but probably not, no," giggled Stella.

Their water returned with their drinks and overheard the end of their conversation, put their glasses down and went to tell the rest of his colleagues behind the bar.

"Let's order," laughed Shannon, still chuckling to herself about her boss.

After a few minutes in silence, scanning the menus, their waiter came back, "Are you ready to order?"

Stella waved her hand at Shannon, indicating that she should order.

"The steak and salad, please."

"Lamb with the vegies, thanks," said Stella, handing her menu over and watching him walk away.

For most of their meal, they talked about a range of topics, including their families, movies, hobbies and past offenders they had arrested. Shannon and Stella were currently trying to one-up each other with the 'dumbest cop ever' they could remember from their time in TR.

"We were checking out a rivalry between two school, led us to a teenage party at the back of an estate. After about fifteen minutes of watching the kids rock up, this old, fat security guard comes waddling down the street to us and tells us that some kids had jumped him and taken his gun. He was absolutely terrified," explained Stella, remembering one of the days where she and Grace actually got along.

"Some kids took his gun?" asked Shannon, trying to figure out the dumb part. "He wouldn't be the first guard to get jumped for his weapon."

"Yeah, I know. I don't think he did though. Turns out the old fart kept the damn thing in his bum bag, just under his Santa Clause gut."

Shannon was bent over the table, her head against the cool wood as she laughed silently and hard, her hand loosely gripping her wine glass.

"His bum bag?" she said in between giggles. Stella nodded. "Alright, that takes the cake, you win."

The younger woman pumped her fists in the air in mock celebration, dancing a little in her seat before settling down and taking a generous sip of her wine. They went silent for a moment and stared at each other for a few seconds.

"How's your nose?" asked Shannon

"How's your hand?" replied Stella.

"Touché, but I asked first," argued the Senior Sergeant. Shannon leaned forwards onto her elbows, watching with genuine interest.

Stella sighed in a joking defeat and smiled gently.

"It's a little sore, a little bruised, but I'll live," she smiled gently. "And your hand?"

"It's a little stiff, considering I punched him twice. As hard as I could," explained Shannon, as her eyes drifted to her slightly swollen knuckles, a tinge of purple littering the perfect skin. She admired her work, proud of the sweet throbbing in her bones. A tanned hand covered hers, and Shannon looked up to see Stella staring, happily and proudly.

"Well, thank you for defending my honour." Stella's voice softened and faded.

Shannon flipped their joined hands and intertwined their fingers shyly. The rest of the bar and the patrons disappeared, leaving the two of them alone together staring into each other's eyes, brown into blue and blue into brown. That was until Stella caught sight of Shannon's watch and saw the time, promptly calling for the check.

"If we don't leave, we're going to be late. It's after nine already."

"This is the big surprise?" asked Shannon, moving to pull some money from her purse.

"It is. What are you doing?" said Stella, her eyes widening with shock.

"Getting ready...to...pay?" suggested Shannon, looking around awkwardly from the Stella to their bill and back to Stella.

"No, you are not. I asked you out, therefore I'm paying. No arguments."

Stella took the bill and walked to the bar, handing over the correct amount with a generous tip. Shannon was slightly stunned at Stella's behaviour; she had never seen the younger woman act like this before, so assertive and confident.

"Let's go," she said, holding out her hand.

Shannon was still sitting at their table. Before she had time to fully understand what was happening, she had taken Stella's hand and they were leaving the restaurant, striding back to the car. Again, Shannon's door was opened for her, and Stella made sure she was sitting comfortably before shutting it gently and getting into the driver's seat.

Stella's giddy smile as she walked behind the car grew, until she climbed into the car where it faded; she didn't want to seem overexcited or extremely giddy. Shannon had had the same reaction as soon as Stella had closed her door, and she was pretty sure that she was felt sparks when their hands had touched over the table.

'_So far, so fan-fucking-tastic!_' thought Stella.

Quickly starting the car, Stella threw the transmission into drive and took off down the street, receiving stares from patrons back in the restaurant.

Their short drive was spent in silence as Shannon started out the window and Stella concentrated on getting to their destination. Five minutes into the drive and Stella was missing the feeling of Shannon's fingers between hers increasingly, and decided to change that immediately.

Stella reached over the centre console and re-joined their hands, fingers fitting between each other's perfectly. It was almost as if their hands were made for the other, like the two halves of the ying and yang circle.

Shannon was facing Stella, head back against the head rest while her fingers stopped Stella from pulling her hand away. Several times at red lights or along vast stretches of straight road, the brunette would turn to Shannon, smiling in the semi-darkness, her face lit up from the dashboard lights.

"We're nearly there," came from Stella in the darkness of the car as she turned into a gravel driveway one-handedly, inching along too slowly for Shannon's liking.

"Where are we?" she asked, sitting up straighter in her seat to look out of the windscreen.

"You don't recognise it?" replied Stella, putting the car into park after reluctantly letting go of Shannon's hand. She could've sworn she heard a wimper come from Shannon.

"No."

Shannon was squinting out of the window, trying to find something, anything familiar about their destination.

"Come on," said Stella, getting out of the car, being beaten by Shannon to open the passenger side door. They immediately re-joined hands easily and cosily as Stella directed them under a large oak tree, their feet slipping on fallen acorns, and around what looked like in the dark, a large tin shed until a small building came into view. It had a large sign lit up above the main doors, where the light was still on inside.

"Mini-golf?" smiled the older woman.

"You must have had a deprived childhood, if you've never played minigolf. Now, as much as I don't _want_ to have to say this, I feel I _must_. I told you so, that we talked about this in the car," explained Stella, her face changing to a feigned seriousness, before tugging Shannon along to the entrance.

The senior sergeant chuckled and allowed herself to pulled inside, Ted the manager standing behind the large counter.

"Welcome back, officers," he grinned, eyes hovering over their linked hands.

"Evening," said Stella kindly.

"I believe you have the outdoor mini-golf course booked for this evening?"

"We do."

"Unfortunately after you left, we experienced some flooding from the little water fall out there," he explained as Stella's face paled slightly. "But not to worry, I have just the thing if you will follow me please."

"Okay, this part I didn't plan," whispered Stella to the quiet woman trailing behind her.

They walked to the second story of the small, crookedly built building and turned down a short hallway. At the end of the dimly lit hallway was a steel-rung ladder leading to a trap door in the roof.

"You're not going to kill us, are you?" asked Stella comically.

"You'll just have to find out," said Ted, indicating for the girls to climb the ladder as he handed Shannon a set of keys for the padlock dangling. As Shannon took to the ladder, Stella turned to Ted and handed him a number of notes as payment for letting them use the course. He quickly counted it and returned nearly half to Stella, she looked back in confusion. "A little discount, for luck for the first date. And for helping today."

"Thank you," Stella said sincerely as Shannon returned with the heavy padlock and keys back to Ted.

"What's up there?" Shannon asked, pointing back to the door.

"Like I said, you'll just have to find out. Now when you get out of the door, go left, follow the roof along to the wall and there is a big panel door. Turn on all of the switches. If you're not out of here by midnight, I'm going to kick you out. I'll be in my office," he said, beginning to walk away. "Have fun, girls."

And with that he threw them each a brightly coloured golf ball and walked to his office with a bounce in his step. Stella turned back to Shannon, smiled and threw her fluoro-green gold ball a foot into the air before catching it and climbing the ladder, pushing hard to get the heavy door open.

It landed with a loud thud against the metal roof and Stella disappeared through the hole. A long silence accompanied Shannon as she stood in the deserted hallway, gazing after Stella until a thump, a yelp and a very loud 'shit!' was heard urging the older woman to climb the ladder.

Her head peaked over the edge just as Stella flicked the light switches on, the entire roof being illuminated by the coloured fairy lights and flashing carnival lights hanging over their heads.

"What did you say 'shit' for?" asked Shannon, pulling herself further up the ladder, awing in amazement at the small course covering every inch of the rooftop.

Stella roughly limped over to help Shannon out of the trapdoor hole.

"Ted forgot to mention the umbrella stand full of putters between the trapdoor and the light switches. I tripped over them."

Stella hiked up the pant leg of her jeans showed off the small dark bruise just under her knee cap, and wiped her wet hands across her back pockets. Shannon laughed at her and gave a short _'awwww, poor Stella.'_

"So, you're sure you've never played mini-golf before?" asked Stella after a moments silence as she picked up the putters from ground where they had fallen and put all but two into the stand, handing one to Shannon. She kept a hold on the club end and led Shannon to the start of the course.

"Positive. Besides running, I was always uncoordinated when it came to sports," explained Shannon, standing at the first hole's tee off spot and casually dropping her bag into a corner on top of Stella's.

"You, uncoordinated?"

"Yep. Running is only _sport_ I can complete safely for all of those involved."

Stella laughed, Shannon blushed.

"Well then, ladies first," said Stella, leaning against the roof's ledge.

Shannon awkwardly dropped her ball and tried to line it up to the hole. It was a simple straight length of green felt, no objects in the way; an easy way to start the game. She could feel Stella's eyes on her back and was pretty sure at one point she could feel them a little lower than her back. Her nervousness grew as she hit the little orange ball gracelessly and blushed when she received a small snigger from Stella.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" asked Stella, retrieving the ball from the ninth hole.

"In all honesty, no."

"Okay, let's see if we can turn you into a professional mini-golfer before the night is through," said Stella, a sheepish smile on her face as is she was face with an impossible task. She left her putter against the ledge where she had been sitting as Shannon attempted her first shot. "Come here."

Stella dropped the ball back to the tee off spot and moved it with her foot, hooked a finger through Shannon's black ribbon belt and positioned herself suitably behind her date.

"There is a method to this madness called mini-golf..."

Stella placed her hands softly over Shannon's hips, directly on top of the waist line of her leggings. Her chin was resting at the base of Shannon's neck, breath tickling the loose strands of hair

"Feet shoulder width apart..."

A foot nudged both feet apart, the ball directly in the middle sitting calmly in front of the putter. Stella's voice was growing huskier and Shannon's mouth went dry.

"Keep your back straight, bend at the waist, arms straight. Then just gently rock your hips..."

As glad as Shannon was that Stella had a hold on her to keep her steady, she was also finding it very hard to focus on the purpose of the putter in her hands. There was only one real _question_ floating through her mind as she felt Stella smile against the back of her neck: 'Who knew mini-golf could be such a turn on?' The fingers gripping her waist drummed softly, sending tingles across and up her back.

"And just let the putter hit the ball softly..."

Stella moved her hands to Shannon's wrists, helping her to guide the ball to the hole.

"And that's a hole-in-one," said Stella, keeping both hands on Shannon's waist as their eyes followed the ball, watching it drop quickly out of sight. "You're very quiet."

"It's been a long time since I have anyone who was more than a friend this close," whispered Shannon, turning in Stella's arms.

She gulped visibly. Stella smiled with her tongue poking out between her teeth. The putter dropped with a dull thud to the carpeted floor, a hand shifting smoothly up Stella's arm to cup her cheek, the other tucking nicely under Stella's arm and over the back of her shoulder. The arms around her waist tightened in an effort to bring the older woman closer and their foreheads bumped together softly.

Stella could feel hot breath on her lips, licking them and letting her eyes flicker to Shannon's nervously. Slowly, their lips came together with Shannon instigating the movements altogether and eyes slid shut.

Their first kiss was soft and timid and slow, testing the waters. They kissed for several moments, letting the other explore, learn. For the first time in a long time, Stella felt as if she had no control, and she was okay with that.

For the second time that night, the rest of the world, work, families, ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends disappeared and the two of them were left standing there at the first hole of a mini-golf course. Pulling back, Stella was breathing heavily and as Shannon whimpered at the loss of contact, both girls let their foreheads touch again.

"Wow,' said Shannon, eyes travelling up to meet Stella's.

The young senior constable could only nod in agreement. She was still seeing stars and fireworks behind her eyes and felt like she had been drinking, a slight buzz overtaking all of her senses.

"I've wanted to do that for a long time," came a hushed whisper.

"You're not the only one," replied Stella, finding her voice again, smiling and leaning in again. Shannon grinned stupidly and met Stella half way.

They spent many more minutes kissing, and as each minute passed, the hungrier their kisses became. It didn't take long for Stella to be granted entry into Shannon's mouth with her tongue, earning a small gratifying moan in response, prompting Shannon to un-attach herself from her younger counter part.

"We should probably stop before..." panted Shannon.

"Before what?"

"Before we get out of control. We should probably finish this game before Ted comes back."

"Okay, but I'm not letting go of you," whispered Stella, keeping a hold on Shannon's hand as the older woman picked up the putter and they continued their game.

At least three times, a chase broke out across the roof, Stella chasing after Shannon with a sold grin plastered on her face. Stella caught Shannon every time and they spent a quiet moments lost in each other.

They were up to the eighteenth hole after nearly two hours of a round of mini-golf. They were currently tied, but Shannon had an inkling that Stella was letting her win. Stella had just taken her turn, missing four times before getting it around the giant monkey sitting in the middle. If Shannon could get her orange ball in, in three shots she would win.

With Stella's hands on her hips, proving to be a very good distraction, she took aim and hit the ball in a fluke shot over the monkey and bouncing crazily into the hole. Her arms went up still holding the putter in celebration, and received another kiss for her win from Stella.

The hatch door slammed open from, pulling them back into reality as Ted told them they had five minutes left. Since they had finished and celebrated Shannon's win, they decided to leave and Stella hit the lights, tripping over the umbrella stand on her way back to the hatch.

"Shit!"

Shannon giggled from the hallway, her hands offering balance to Stella's hips as she climbed down the ladder, locking the door with its heavy padlock as she went.

Ted walked them out, asking if they enjoyed themselves.

Both girls all of a sudden blushed strongly and spoke simultaneously.

"Yes!"

Stella turned back to him as they walked out of a side door, seeing as the automatic from doors were locked.

"Ted Potter, you are a legend. Thanks for letting us use the course."

"No worries. You have a good night now," waved Ted, as Shannon and Stella disappeared into the darkness back to their car.

The temperature had dropped slightly, but neither girl had noticed, both being too swept up in the other. In the car, Stella turned the ignition and immediately turned the heater on, letting her warm her hands before turning back down the drive to the highway. Her stomach gave a small growl.

"You hungry?" asked Shannon, trying to subtly place her hand on Stella's thigh. It might not have been as subtle as she would have liked but if it affected Stella in any way, the younger woman did well to hide her shock.

"Apparently. You want to get a bite?"

"Sure. Why don't you head down to St Kilda. We can get some fish and chips and sit on the pier," she suggested, her head back against the head rest facing Stella again.

"Alright," replied Stella, thanking herself for reminding to grab a jacket.

Their shortly lived road trip back to St Kilda was used to talk about Shannon's first ever mini-golf experience.

"I swear you let me win, just out of pity," said Shannon, her hand still resting on Stella's thigh twenty minutes later.

"And I swear that I did not let you win. I think I was just out of practice a little. It's been at least two years since I last went."

They pulled into a main street and could see the amusement park turning off its lights for the night. Shannon directed Stella to a small fish and chip shop on the corner of the esplanade, and Stella insisting than her date remain in the car because it was getting colder outside.

"Such the gentleman," grinned Shannon, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Well, I do try," said Stella, winking before running into the take-away shop for some minimum chips.

The small time spent alone in the car and in the shop gave each girl a second to stop and remember the memories they had created in their five hours together outside of work. Perfect dinner date to behave like adults, a perfect mini-golf game to behave like children, and amazing kisses all night long. They both had a strong feeling that there was going to be a second date, and neither of them could wait.

The car was parked right next to a small patch of grass lit by the shops lights, the street lights and the moonlight. When Shannon saw Stella leaving the shop, a small bag in her hand, she pulled the keys from the ignition, grabbed Stella's jacket and promptly shivered in the chilled wind.

Stella handed the bag of hot chips to Shannon who hugged it and pulled two blankets from the back. She was in a white dress and was not sitting on the grass in it, so she spread one out on a small area of grass near the street lamp, giving them the perfect view of the black bay and all of its occupants. Stella shrugged her jacket on, and sat down against the pole, motioning for Shannon to sit between her legs and wrap the blanket around them.

Once they were comfortable - Stella with her arms wrapped around Shannon's waist, and Shannon leaning trustingly into the embrace - they opened up the bag of chips, seeing a large amount of steam being released from the bag and began eating, Shannon hand feeding Stella so they didn't have to move.

Shannon and Stella were both so comfortable with each other that it felt as if they had been together for years, not hours. It helped with them being friends for over a year to be so comfortable with each other. Their date was just like their times spent hanging out but in nicer clothes, in nicer places and with kissing.

"So you've never really told me anything about your family," said Stella, dropping a kiss to a bare patch of neck while chewing her chip.

"There's not much to tell," answered Shannon. She knew this topic was going to come up sooner or later, she had just wished it was later.

"Why don't you let me be me judge of that."

Another chip was offered to her which she accepted willingly.

"Alright. But I'm not going to tell you everything, we can leave that for another night," explained Shannon, snuggling back tensely.

"I will take whatever I can get," smiled Stella, another kiss just behind Shannon's ear.

"Basically, Tony is an arsehole. He's my real father, but he's not my dad. He was never around when I was growing up. So my mum Michelle worked two jobs for eight years. She settled down when she married James, my step-father, who I consider to be my dad. He always took care of us, but he didn't treat me like the annoying brat of his wife, you know?" she explained, trying to word her brief family history so she didn't give too much away.

"Not personally, but I understand what you're getting at," said Stella. "Why was he never around?"

She felt Shannon tense in her arms.

"That is what we will save for another night, maybe after the tenth date," she joked, turning her head to look at Stella.

"The tenth? You think we're gonna get that far?" asked Stella, offering a smile that made Shannon melt.

"No, I don't," she said, twisting her body. "I think we're gonna get further."

"Aww, so sweet," said Stella, moving in for a kiss. Shannon allowed her to and playfully returned it.

Shannon and Stella took their time to finish their chips, often kissing in between chewing, just behaving like a young couple perfectly content with being around each other.

"You want to go for a walk on the pier?" asked Stella, after they had finished their chips.

"It looks seedier at one am then it did in my head when I suggested it."

Stella laughed again and freed one hand from around Shannon's waist to look for her wrist watch, pulling the older woman's entire arm out of the warmth of the blanket to check the time. It read 1:16 am.

"It's late," said Stella.

"It's early," offered Shannon.

"I should get you home, like a good date would."

"I'm resisting the urge to be cheesy about that comment you just made."

They both chuckled and reluctantly left their cocoon of warmth to throw out the empty packet and get back into the car. They didn't quite get into the car when Stella once again refused to hand over the car keys, insisting that she drop Shannon off at home and grab a taxi home.

"Stel, it's late. If you insist on driving me home, in my car," smiled Shannon, allowing Stella to wrap her arms around Shannon's waist, "I insist that you stay the night. It's been a long day, and I can tell you're tired. I'll drive you home in the morning."

"I'm always tired, but I slept in the car today."

"How do you just fall asleep in the car?" Stella shrugged. "It's gonna come back to bite you in the arse one day, you know that right?"

Stella smiled and nodded.

"A sleepover after one date? I must be good."

"A sleepover to sleep. I'm sticking to the one year part of my vow," said Shannon pointedly, playing with Stella's silver cross hanging from the thin chain.

"Fair enough. As long I can still kiss you, I think I'll survive another six months," reasoned Stella, kissing her date before she could say anything.

"So you'll stay?" asked Shannon.

"I'll stay. I guess I can stop complaining about never your place then huh?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

And they left St Kilda pier behind, zooming off towards Shannon's house, Stella getting directions every so often so they wouldn't get lost. It took nearly half an hour to get to Shannon's flat, and as Stella parked the car, she saw the sweetest sight of her entire life; Shannon had fallen asleep only minutes before.

Stella exited the car, taking her bag from behind the drivers seat, hating the idea of having to wake her up, but she did so anyways.

"Shan, wake up," she said softly, nudging the older woman with her hand. Shannon's eyes snapped open as soon as Stella said her name and her head perked up. "We're at yours."

She looked out of the open door past Stella's head, recognising her house in the darkness. Slowly, she clambered out of the car, grabbed her bag and let Stella lock it behind them, reaching for the keys to unlock the front back door.

The entered into the kitchen and the lights came on, temporarily blinding both of them. It was a few moments before Stella could see clearly and took in the spotless kitchen, the hallway to the front door with the staircase leading upstairs, and tidy the lounge room. To the right, there was the laundry.

"Nice," said Stella politely. Shannon smiled sleepily. "You ready for bed?"

"Yeah," said Shannon, dropping her flip flops just inside the laundry room door, prompting Stella to do the same.

The light disappeared and they were left standing in the darkness of Shannon's kitchen. Stella felt a hand take hers and lead her down the hallway to the front door, turning left at the stairs. They were relatively steep and Stella yelped again when she tripped up the stairs. Shannon laughed and took her into the master bedroom just off the top landing, flicking the light switch on.

It was a plain white room, a large wooden bed in the middle of the far wall covered with red and cream sheets. On each side of the bed there were matching bedside tables, and across from the bed was a chest of draws that matched the bed, a small TV resting on the top. Stella shrugged off her jacket and her vest setting them at the end of the bed as Shannon began shuffling through her drawers for something to wear.

She handed some clothes and directed Stella to the bathroom before getting changed herself. Stella came back just as Shannon was pulling her singlet top down, allowing the younger woman to start drool slightly at the sight of so much exposed skin.

As she padded across the room, dropping her clothes onto the bed with her jacket, Stella pinned Shannon to the foot of the bed, one hand drifting up her back.

Shannon's hands were on either side of Stella's face, holding their foreheads together easily, before pulling her in for a gentle kiss, feeling Stella sigh into her lips and smile.

Not even five minutes later they were climbing into bed; Stella on the left and Shannon on the right. They got comfortable with Shannon up against the pillows, arm around Stella as the younger woman nuzzled Shannon's face and let a leg slide in over Shannon's. One last kiss and they drifted off to sleep, words coming out in a sigh from Shannon.

"Best date ever."

Stella smiled.

"Ditto."

* * *

Don't forget to review. Thanks.


	7. The Flaw

Oh hey, look. ANOTHER chapter. I swear, each chapter is getting longer and longer than the one before it and it shits me. I can't stop writing LOL. Once again, unbeta'd and I'm lazy so I didn't check it thoroughly for mistakes, please excuse those. This chapter is based loosely around Episode 7 and includes more KISSING! PS I wrote this as fast as I could, so it's not my best. *shrugs*

**WARNING:** This chapter contains swearing and the hurting of a much loved character

In A Rush: read and review whenever, as long as you review *gives squinty eyes* jks. I always appreciate comments and criticism so if you can, great, if you can't its no biggie. I told you I would update tonight too.

alina grech: i think she would be an awesome date. I wrote her as the fun date 'cause she was desperate to impress haha

Vicky: the sleeping in the car will comeback to bite her in the arse ***POSSIBLE SPOILER*** and it may cause some problems for our favourite couple. No I am not talking about Lawson/Josh.

TheSweetestThing: Well, I try :) Enjoy this chapter

HappyHereford: well thank you. I wasn't drinking tonight cause I have work in the morning so it's not my best

ALL REVIEWER's: thank you!

* * *

The morning after their date, Stella had spent over an hour staring at Shannon as she slept as the early morning sunlight fell through the gaps in the blinds, highlighting Shannon's hair and skin. The lack of usual make-up showed Stella just how peaceful but tired the older woman must have been. Deciding that she needed her sleep, Stella tucked an arm under hear head and continued her staring, reminiscing about the night before, smiling every so often. It didn't take long after she started running her fingers through the coppery-brown hair for Shannon to finally wake up.

A soft kiss pressed to Shannon's head, and she snuggled in closer and sighed a 'good morning' as she opened her eyes slowly.

"Morning to you, too," replied Stella, her arm fusing perfectly to Shannon as she wrapped it around her back.

Shannon pulled herself up to rest her head on the pillow and stare back into Stella's deep brown eyes.

"How did you sleep last night?" she asked, letting her hand slip under Stella's borrowed top and settle on her stomach.

Licking her lips, Stella answered the question. "First night without any nightmares, so I guess I should thank you for that."

"Well, you're welcome, Stel."

A few moments later and Stella's stomach growled violently.

"You a bit hungry? Just how long have you been awake?"

"Nearly an hour and a half."

"Doing what?"

"Admiring," came as a sigh, but the rest came as a groan, "God, you're beautiful."

"And you're full of shit."

"This is something I would not lie about," said Stella, gently straddling Shannon. "If I got to wake up like this every day I would be in heaven literally."

The red blush that flushed across Shannon's face glowed brighter in accordance with the sunlight, giving the impression of a really bad sunburn. Shannon sat up to lean back against her hands and offered a sweet kiss that was eagerly returned.

"Come on, let's get you some breakfast. I still have to take you home."

Together they cooked breakfast and Stella made a crude comment about sharing a shower to save time and water. Her argument was stopped dead in its tracks by a simple, 'yeah, right' and a grin that made Stella misdirect the piece of pancake she had been aiming for her mouth.

For the first time in over a week, Stella was the passenger and not the driver of Shannon's car and they settled themselves into the car and took off down the street towards Fitzroy for a speedy fifteen minute drive. For both women, the drive went too fast and before they knew it, Shannon was pulling the SUV to a stop outside of Stella's apartment building.

"I had a _really_ good time last night," said Shannon, putting the car in park, turning the engine off and turning in her seat to face Stella. Stella grinned sheepishly.

"It appears that I still have my awesome date planning skills." She winked at Shannon and unbuckled her seatbelt. "I had a really good time, mainly 'cause I got to something that I've wanted to do for a while."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"This," said Stella, and she leaned across the centre console quickly before Shannon could object and kissed her again. When she pulled back only slightly, licking her lips, she continued, "I could so get used to doing that whenever I wanted."

"Well that's good, because so could I," smiled Shannon.

"I don't want to get out of the car."

"Why not?"

"Because I probably won't see you until work on Monday," explained the senior constable, still close enough to Shannon to gaze at whatever she could see.

A hand cupped her cheek.

"That's okay, you probably need a cold shower by now anyways," retorted Shannon.

"I think I'm rubbing off on you," exclaimed Stella, laughing as more crude thoughts entered her mind. "Anyways, I'll talk to you later?"

"Definitely."

Stella hopped out of the car, pulled her bag out of the car and that softness Shannon had rarely seen before their date showed itself again when she looked through the window to wave. Shannon watched Stella walk in through the security door before she drove off, a shit-eating grin occupying her face.

As Stella walked up the three flights of stairs to her apartment door, she had the same grin plastered across her own face.

The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday went entirely too slow for both women. Stella had even resorted to attempting to read a length book, but for someone who wasn't a real big book reader, she found it difficult. So she spent most of her time either running, cleaning or having a cold shower. Shannon took to cleaning her entire house from top to bottom, but had only managed to fill her spare room with even more junk than before.

Sunday night, Stella had sent a simple text message to Shannon.

'_Can't wait to see you tomorrow, missing you like crazy. Sweet dreams. Xx'_

This left Shannon with another giddy smile on her face as she replied quickly.

'_You have no idea __xx'_

* * *

On Monday morning, they arrived at the TR base both a little bit apprehensive about seeing each other after their date. How would they act? Would they tell anyone? Would Stella be a major flirt? Would they have a second date? Stella was early by two hours and decided to finish her paperwork from the week before, and by seven-thirty she sought out a shower to wake herself up.

She came out of the stall wrapped in a towel and prepared to get dressed when the door opened and Michael and Shannon walked in, both of them mentally removing the towel. Michael had a rather nasty looking black eye.

"Morning," mumbled Michael, heading straight for his locker and began getting undressed.

"Morning," said Shannon, still staring at Stella who smirked behind Michael's back.

"Good weekend, Stel?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Had a hot date Friday night," she explained, tearing her eyes away from Shannon as Michael turned around.

"Guy or girl?"

"Girl."

"How'd that go?"

"Really well actually."

"What did you do?"

Shannon rolled her eyes at the young man's ability to be so nosey, but she supposed it came with the territory of dating Stella.

"We went to dinner."

"Boring?"

"No, actually it was nice. And," said Stella, jumping up to pull her work pants up, "I got to sleep over."

"After one date? She is either easy or desperate."

Shannon's jaw dropped at Michael's back. Stella saw this and knew that even though Michael had no idea they were talking about Shannon, it hurt the older woman a small bit.

"Ouch! What was that for?" asked Michael, rubbing the back of his head firmly.

"No badmouthing of my potential girlfriend!"

As the water started and both girls heard the shower curtain being pulled across, Stella sidled along to Shannon in nothing but her bra and workpants. Her singlet was in her hands ready to pull over her head.

"Now who's defending whose honour?"

"I had to return the favour."

"Potential girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah. How about it?" smiled Stella.

"Let's just see how we go."

Michael had started singing in the shower and Stella knew he was distracted, so she seized her opportunity and kissed her.

"I've been wanting to do that since you dropped me off on Saturday," she whispered, pulling her shirt over her head.

"You're not the only one," smirked Shannon, as she shrugged her bra off and was left in her towel. She pushed Stella's mouth up as she walked to the empty shower stall. "Catching flies isn't a good look."

Stella gulped and left for the locker room to finish getting ready.

Fifteen minutes later Shannon entered the locker room, Lawson, Christian and Josh trailing behind her.

"Briefing in ten minutes," said Lawson, as soon as he was dressed. His eyes briefly flickered to Shannon as she was bent over rummaging through her bag at the bottom of her locker. Stella caught him and glared at his back. He disappeared quickly.

Michael headed for the 'kitchen' and made himself a coffee, bumping into Audrey on the way back up to the office. They flirted terribly, and the four in the locker room laughed loudly.

"What happened to you?" asked Kerry, looking at Michael.

"Indoor Soccer," he mumbled behind his Styrofoam cup.

"Okay, TR1. The boys, you're with me. Girls, you're in TR2 with Josh. There aren't any specific jobs that require our attention, are there Kerry?" asked Lawson, looking at his boss.

"Not specifically," said Kerry, looking like she had one terrible hangover.

"Okay, guys. Just be careful out there. Looks like a massive lightening and thunder storm is going to be heading our way. Don't forget to be vigilant about Kronin."

Everyone, including Kerry, rolled their eyes at his antics when it came to Kronin.

"We'll take the west," said Josh.

"Alright, we'll get the north then."

They all returned to the locker room and armoury to collect their vests, weapons and special issue mobile phones, and soon they were out on the road, the rain falling solidly onto the cars.

TR2 was filled with a comfortable silence between the three officers as Stella drove, the lousy weather putting a damper on everyone's moods, but not as much for Shannon and Stella. As the only two female officers on the squad, they rarely got to ride together and Shannon was often put in TR1 with Lawson. As often as possible, Stella would shoot looks into the mirror. It didn't take long for Josh to catch on that she kept looking in the rear mirror.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I think we're being tailed, but I can't tell in this rain," said Stella. She wasn't lying, she really did think they were being tailed, but she preferred to stare at Shannon.

Both Josh and Shannon turned to look. A small blue Honda was sitting less than a cars length behind them.

"Shan, keep an eye on it. Stel, take the next turn that you can," said Josh.

The Tactical Response Four Wheel Drive turned into a service lane and then Stella took the next left into a large local estate. The blue Honda followed them a second later. Only to turn into a driveway just inside the street.

All three members let out a sigh of relief as Stella turned to get them out of the estate, re-emerging into the main traffic several minutes later.

The rest of their day went without any major problems. Stella had had to chase a bag snatcher through suburbia hell and a local market. Josh and Shannon had appeared five minutes later out of nowhere, the offender running right into the car, Stella pinning him as Josh covered her.

"You couldn't have rocked up sooner?" said Stella, breathing heavily to catch her breath.

Josh laughed out loud and Shannon smiled, as Stella let herself collapse to the ground. Sure the members of the Tactical Response team were specially trained, but that didn't mean they were world class sprinters

Half an hour later, they were leaving a local station after dropping him off. It was still raining and they stopped for a lunch break sometime after one pm. Sitting in the car, they finished eating their kebabs from a local Greek take away store and sculling their bottles of water.

"I gotta take a piss. Be back in a sec," said Josh, gathering their rubbish for the bin.

"How are your legs?" asked Shannon, leaning forward from the back seat.

"Sore. Nice driving by the way," she said, turning to look at the woman leaning against Josh's empty seat. Shannon looked around for Josh quickly, and when she couldn't see him, leaned in for the kiss she had been dying for since they set out that morning. Her hand was still resting on the back of Stella's neck when they separated.

"I'll make it up to you," said Shannon.

"Oh yeah, how's that?"

"I'll take you out for ice cream," she smiled.

"Just ice cream?"

"Well, I might kiss you a little more, too."

Simultaneously they moved in, only for Stella to move back and for a second Shannon thought she had been rejected. It took her a second to remember they were at work, with Josh who was coming back at anytime.

'_Damn Josh and his shitty timing!_' though Shannon, reluctantly sitting back and glaring at the back of his head as he ran back to the car, hurrying to get back into the dry environment.

The skin across the back of her neck was suddenly cold and tingling as Shannon removed her hand.

As soon as they arrived back at base, Lawson informed them of a job they would be taking care of with the Armed Robbery Squad in a month about some surveillance of Andrew Kronin. Stella could swear that his obsession was getting worse.

They were all set to leave for the night, paperwork done and uniforms ready to be washed, when Kerry called out down the hall.

"Shannon, Stella! Can I have a word before you leave?"

They shared a look but tried to stay calm and not panic. If only one of them had been called up to talk to their boss, they wouldn't have thought it was anything important to the two of them. But both of them had been called back and it was slightly unnerving as they both walked, Stella more stiffly than Shannon, back to Kerry.

She directed them into her office and shut the door, leaned against her desk and sat in silence for a moment. Both women had worked with her for long enough to know most of her scare tactics, and this one was definitely working.

"What's up?" asked Stella, fiddling with her bag.

"What's going on?" asked the Inspector, looking back and forth between the two standing in front of her.

"What do you mean?" asked the youngest.

Shannon had a feeling she knew where this was going and it was going to end badly if they were not careful.

"I never would have figured this. I thought you and Michael, Stel, but not you and Shannon. Gotta admit, I didn't see that coming."

Shannon finally found her voice, trying to keep up the facade.

"Didn't see what coming?"

Kerry turned back to her desk and produced a laptop out of thin air, already open and ready to play. Who knew that Kerry was computer illiterate enough to know how to select a small portion of their lapel camera footage and turn it into a small home movie. She pressed play and turned it towards them.

"You're lucky Leon was in the bathroom when this happened," muttered Kerry, watching the expressions of the two girls in front of her. "Do you know how much shit you would have copped?"

There, on the screen, was the two of them after they had just finished their lunch, after Josh had just gotten out of the car. The lighting was shitty but you could tell it was them. Then their onscreen selves shared a kiss and Shannon eyes, out of shear horror, widened dramatically and then closed. Stella's sigh sounded deflated.

"Seems you forgot you were wearing your cameras. So, again, I'll ask. What's going on?"

Shannon and Stella shared another looked, contemplating their options. Another moment of silence was all Kerry needed to confirm her suspicions of an inter-team relationship, but she wanted to hear it from the girls.

"There's no point in lying about it, we've been caught out already," said Stella, her body facing Shannon.

"We went on a date Friday night," said Shannon, burying her hands in her pockets.

"A date?"

"Our first date," answered Stella. "And we plan to keep dating, so if you feel the need to chuck one -of us out, let it be me."

Stella heard Shannon's shock even though the older woman never made a sound.

"That's honourable, Stel. I'll keep that in mind when you two slip up," said Kerry, folding her arms in the usual Kerry Vincent fashion.

"What do you mean 'slip up'?" asked Shannon quietly.

"I'll make you a deal," started Kerry, her voice softening, "you know that any relationship is to be reported, so it can be managed by means of transfer or by ending the relationship. If you two can follow some rules I set for you, I won't report it."

"What rules?" asked Stella, hopeful about staying in TR.

"Basically, you keep whatever this is, or whatever it's gonna be, out of here. So from the time you start your shift to the time you finish, you are Sergeant Shannon Henry and Senior Constable Stella Dagostino. You're both focused on your jobs when you're at work. As soon as you clock out, you can do whatever the hell you like. Deal?"

"Can we tell you tomorrow?" asked Stella, the question coming out in a rush more than a coherent sentence. She risked a glance at Shannon as soon as she spoke. It took the Inspector a moment of consideration, willing to give them the night to talk it over, and nodded.

"Keep your noses clean, and we won't have any problems. Now go home!" said Kerry, walking out of her office to yell at Leon for watching porn on the system computers again.

Neither of them breathed until they were well out of the building entirely, and even then neither spoke a word. Stella was walking for the sake of walking as she tried to process what the hell had just happened. Shannon, unlike Stella, was able to walk with a purpose while thinking about Kerry's proposition. As soon as they arrived in the parking lot outside, Shannon pulled Stella through the rain to her car.

They remained in silence as Shannon drove on autopilot to Stella's apartment building. It was unnerving for the both of them that after one date somebody already knew. Shannon was just thankful Kerry got to it before Leon did, or they would never hear the end of it.

"Come up?" asked Stella, as the car pulled to a halt outside her building.

Shannon nodded, parked the car quickly and together they ran across the parking lot attempting to shelter themselves. They got stuck at the door as Stella slipped to open it and a loud boom of thunder rolled over their heads, making them jump.

"That storm is only gonna get worse," said Shannon, observing the already overflowing car park.

"Well, if it gets too bad, you're staying here. Come on, we have to talk," said Stella, intertwining her fingers with Shannon's and pulling her up the stairs to her apartment. Within minutes, they were safely inside and the kettle was boiling for some coffee. Stella was rummaging through her chest of drawers and closet to find some dry clothes for the both of them.

Not long after the storm had hit in full force, they were huddled up on the couch each of them nursing a hot cup of coffee, Stella's iPod spewing out soft tunes and words.

"I was hoping to have kept it between us for a little bit longer," admitted Shannon, staring at the small bubbles in her mug.

"Yeah, I know. It sucks that she knows, and that it didn't come directly from us as well."

"Yeah. So what are we going to do?" asked the older one.

Since Kerry had revealed her knowledge of whatever it was that was happening between them, Shannon had been quiet and slightly withdrawn. Stella knew how much TR meant to Shannon, that's why she offered to be transferred out _again_ if it meant she could still be with Shannon.

"That's easy," said Stella, placing both cups on the small coffee table sitting on the middle of the rug, and loosely wrapping an arm around Shannon. "We play by her rules."

"You think is a game?" Shannon asked dejectedly, her head now resting in Stella's lap.

"Okay, not the best choice of words. If we _follow_ her rules, she has no reason to split us up, no reason to report it. And that gives us a chance to see where this goes, where we go," she suggested, brushing some loose strands from Shannon's face and leaning closer, till their noses were barely touching. "Okay?"

Shannon nodded. She was still tense about the whole idea of Kerry knowing before they really did themselves.

"What are we?"

"Whatever we want to be."

Shannon smiled at the dorkishness of the comment.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" she blurted out. The question reminded Shannon of those old teen drama series where the invisible boy would always get a major crush on the most popular girl at school, and somehow end up with her, getting all shy when he asked her on a date.

Stella searched Shannon's eyes. She was curious if Shannon wanted to know where they stood, or if she wanted reassurance.

"With pleasure," said Stella, still staring into Shannon's eyes. They shared a long moment lost in each other.

There was a explosive boom above their heads and the whole building shook strongly and quickly.

"Holy shit!" said Stella, as a frame fell from her wall thankfully on to her bed.

A flash of lightening and they were sucked into the relative darkness, the only light coming from the grey sky outside.

"Have any candles?" asked Shannon.

"Oh yeah," answered the younger woman, moving slowly and painfully from the couch to the bookshelves on the other side of the room where her multicoloured candles were sitting, waiting to be used. She fished a lighter from a desk drawer and set them down on the bench and the coffee table. The loft was suddenly lit with a soft glow.

Shannon looked beautiful and Stella wasted no time in telling her.

They spent the rest of night in darkness; Stella had refused to let Shannon leave, claiming to be looking out for her safety, saying that if the building's power was out so were the intersections in the area. Shannon thought that Stella just didn't want to be alone during a storm of this magnitude.

"Are you scared of thunderstorms?"

"No," squeaked Stella, as another wave of thunder rolled over the building.

"Come here," said Shannon, pulling her girlfriend onto the bed, helping her fall into a restless slumber.

The next morning they were nearly late for briefing because the power was still out. Lawson nearly shot them on the spot. He was beginning to get pissy about how often the members of his team had been late in the past month.

On the way out to the cars, Stella stuck her head into Kerry's office.

"We'll play by your rules."

"Okay. Since that is sorted, get your arse out into the car."

Stella wasted no time in sprinting out to the car and into the back seat.

* * *

Shannon and Stella had been official but still keeping it quiet for a month. According to Kerry, they were riding a fine line but had yet to cross said line. The two of them made sure that they stayed well inside the boundaries Kerry had set for them and on top of that she had demanded details.

"I don't want to know everything, just the basics. If you two are fighting, I want to know. I can't have your relationship screw this unit up."

She had then quickly turned into a girl and demanded details.

The TR members were currently working their regular weekend shift of every second Sunday per month and it was the day of their surveillance task on Andrew Kronin with the Armed Robbery Squad.

As usual, Shannon and Stella arrived at work early. Lawson was there and he made a joke about the two girls wanting to work rather than sleep in on a Sunday morning as much as they could. Knowing full well that besides Lawson, no one who would need to use the showers would be at the base that early, and Shannon spent several minutes pinned between Stella and the back of the door. An hour later, they walked out of the showers, dressed in their uniforms lightly; their t-shirts, pants and boots, and a massive grin on both of their faces.

Several more kisses were stolen until Kerry interrupted.

"What did I tell you two?"

"Nothing between the time out shift starts and the time it ends," said Stella.

"Exactly, so what are you doing?"

"Our shift hasn't started yet." Stella answered again, willing to push the boundaries to see how much they could get away with. Kerry walked away glugging down her coffee and muttering 'smartarse' under her breathe.

Ten minutes later, everyone else began to arrive. Michael was late again and his face was littered with bruises. Unfortunately Stella was tasked with Josh and Michael. Josh wasn't going to go easy on the muppet.

"How's that indoor soccer going?" asked Shannon, grabbing her motorcycle gloves, jacket and helmet and heading to the bathroom to get changed.

"Aren't you on today?" Michael asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I'm going commando," smirked Shannon, giving Stella a look as she finished getting ready. Stella returned the smirk and gave her girlfriend the once-over as she left the locker room, "See you out there, losers."

She smiled and turned to Michael. Her smile quickly dropped and Stella mentally rolled her eyes. Michael began to ask about what they were doing, if anyone would fill him in. Christian took pity, but Stella was on Josh's side. Michael was late, and if he had been on time he would know. As soon as Michael said his injuries were a result of indoor cricket, Stella called him on it.

"His boys are pulling a job today. I'll fill you in in the car. Hurry up!" ordered Josh, walking out. He was then berated by Lawson and Stella fled the locker room, wanting one last look at her girlfriend in a bikers outfit. A tap to Shannon's shoulder, and she received a smile.

The car ride over to the meat packing shop was spent discussing the details of their part in the operation to arrest Kronin.

"They'll be out in a year," Stella commented when Josh explained who they were mainly going after.

"Don't tell Lawson that."

Josh and Stella shared a smile at their boss's obsession. Lawson really needed a new hobby. Or at least a girlfriend.

Michael, Josh and Stella were waiting in the meat packing freezer of the butchers their targets were going to rip off that day. Stella was currently watching Josh and Michael duke it out about Josh's apparent lack of leadership because the Senior Constable didn't have a jacket to keep warm. Josh willingly gave his jacket to a reluctant Michael, and told him to watch the door.

Shannon wasn't responding over the comms. This worried Stella, because Shannon always reported in. Christian was sent down to her last know position to find out what was keeping her.

"Lawson, I've found Shannon's bike, but it looks like she's been some kind of accident," explained the Samoan.

Stella's stomach dropped three feet and hit the ground.

"Is there any sign of her?" asked Lawson.

"Nah. There are people around, but no one saw what happened."

"Shit!" Stella whispered to herself, but she was overheard by Josh. Stella was keen to follow the rules, especially after she got busted racing illegally with Alana and put on suspension. She knew that even though her girlfriend was now apparently missing, she must focus on the task at hand, or Lawson would murder her on the spot for screwing up their plans. Then Kerry would kill her. And then Shannon would kill her for getting killed by Lawson _and_ Kerry.

"She'll be fine. Shannon knows how to look after herself, Stel," said Josh, offering a wink.

She smiled back, trying to push negative thoughts to the back of her head and maintain her attention levels to the two petty thieves on the screen in front of her.

Josh could see something in Stella's eyes, but it may have just been a reflection from the crappy fluorescent lights in the freezer.

Then one of them, Makrokanis, mentioned his last fight being against a police officer, a tactically trained police officer. Stella and Josh turned to Michael. A small fight broke out between the two boys and Stella was forced to play mediator. At least the argument took her mind off of her missing girlfriend for a moment to reduce her panic.

"Ah, Lawson," said Leon. He didn't want to be the one to tell his boss that one of their team members was currently with Kronin.

"I just received a phone call from Kronin's mobile. It was from Shannon."

"What!" exclaimed Kerry and Lawson at the same time.

Shannon was in the passenger seat of Andrew Kronin's car. Her entire left side was in pain, burning as if someone had take a white-hot iron poker and driven through each major joint. She had to keep calm, despite the fact that she was in a car with a known thief and murderer. One wrong move and he would probably kill her.

She immediately thought of Stella.

He was adamant about driving her to Western Emergency Department on the other side of the city, when they were closer to Williamstown Hospital. Apparently, it was full.

"You can just drop me a taxi rank."

"I'm taking you to the hospital. It's least I can do."

"Isn't there somewhere you've got to be?" she asked, knowing full well that her girlfriend was meant to be arresting him in about ten minutes at the butchers. Shannon tried to be nice, not wanting to be caught out. "Who were those guys?"

"They think I owe them money," said Kronin, before spotting them in the rear view mirror tailing his car. He told her to hold on and took a sharp left, jolting Shannon and causing more pain. Kronin slammed on the brakes and pulled her out of the car and dragged her, nearly kicking and screaming, through a large shopping centre to a car park on the other side.

As soon as they hid behind a car, the fire pokers back through Shannon's joints, she knew Kronin had found her out as a police officer. Thankfully, he didn't hurt her, but quite the opposite and offered some advice,

"If he comes at you, use your weapon."

Kerry had been the first to spot her and all Lawson had been worried about was where Kronin was.

"We got Shannon. She's okay," said Kerry over the comms, understanding that Stella would want to know anything about her girlfriend.

Stella sighed in relief and stormed the offices with Josh and Michael

Three hours later, Josh and Stella were arriving back at base with a beaten up Michael in the backseat. Makrokanis had been arrested and the ambulance officers had deemed Michael fit to go home, but suggested that any headaches or dizziness spells that came up, he should go to the hospital.

"Hey Stella!" yelled Kerry, coming down the hallway.

She was pulling a bag out of the back of TR2 to do inventory as usual.

"Yeah?"

"Leave that, get changed, get Shannon's stuff and go pick her up from Epworth Hospital. I think she could use a certain face right about now," smiled Kerry, taking the bag from Stella's shoulder.

"You never cease to amaze me Kerry."

Stella was pretty sure she violated at least twelve traffic laws as she sped to the hospital in Shannon's SUV, her girlfriend's bag sitting in the passenger seat. The administration desk clerk was rude and Stella threatened to arrest him. He quickly gave her the information she was after; Shannon was in the Emergency Department, down the hall and to the right.

It wasn't hard to spot her, a certain blonde doctor leaning over and applying pressure to her ribs. Stella heard Shannon groan in pain from the other side of the department. So she rushed over just as Tash walked away.

"Hey, dork," said Stella, smiling at Shannon.

Shannon's pain-filled eyes brightened, "Hi."

Stella pressed a comforting kiss to her forehead and before she could pull away far enough to set the bag down at her feet, Shannon's right hand grabbed her collar, requesting a kiss and getting it quickly.

"How do you feel?"

"Like shit, but better after that."

Stella smiled. "Well, you look beautiful."

"Smartarse."

"So what's actually wrong? Or are you faking?"

Stella brushed her fingers through Shannon's messy hair, wishing she could do something for the pain.

"Ask the doc. She hasn't told me anything yet and I've been here for four hours," complained Shannon, as Tash came back with some x-rays.

"You must be Stella," said Tash, introducing herself and offering her hand. Stella shook it and smiled politely. "I'm Doctor Tash Button."

"I know," said Stella. Shannon slapped her hand. "What? I do."

Then it clicked.

"You returned Minka home last month, when she was drunk?"

"Yep."

"Ah, well thank you for that," said Tash before turning to Shannon. "Alright Shannon, sprained ankle, bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder."

"Shit!" exclaimed Stella. "What exactly did you do today?"

"You mean you haven't seen the footage?" grimaced Shannon.

"I haven't been at base long enough too."

"I ran down a guy with a cricket bat, lost control of the bike and went arse over tit over where the handle bars should have been and landed badly."

"Lawson mentioned that you were unconscious for a while?" asked Tash, slipping the x-rays into a large envelope.

"Yeah, about ten minutes I think."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you don't have a concussion. She shouldn't be alone for the next couple of days. Are you looking after her tonight?" Tash asked Stella.

"Yep."

"Alright. I'll prescribe some pain medication, it'll probably make you drowsy so don't take them until you get home and don't eat them on an empty stomach. I want you back here in a week to organise some physical therapy to get full range of motion back into that shoulder. For at least three days, do not take the sling off. If it get's sore again after you take it off, put it back on. Stay off the ankle for a week. No walking. You got all that?"

Tash looked between the two women.

"When did you breathe during that whole lot of words?" asked Stella.

"I didn't," smirked Tash. "You just need to sign a few sheets, and you can go. You can get your prescription filled at the pharmacy down the hall to the left."

Tash disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a wheelchair and several discharge sheets for Shannon to sign. She left them alone and closed the curtains so Shannon could get changed into her own clothes. Stella had to help and when she saw the bruising around her hip and ankle, she cringed outwardly.

Shannon lowered herself into the wheelchair and Stella wheeled her past the nurse's station.

"Hey! Don't forget, if you have any headaches or dizziness to come straight back, and get plenty of rest."

"Thanks, Tash," said Shannon, smiling.

"No worries. See you next week!"

A quick trip to the pharmacy and then out to the car in the wheelchair had Shannon feeling useless.

"Stel, I can walk. You don't have to wheel me around."

"Yes, I do, because you're not allowed to walk," argued Stella as she tossed Shannon's bag into the back seat and helped her into the passenger seat.

Five minutes later, Stella was in the driver's seat after returning the wheelchair.

"Your place or mine?" she whispered.

"Yours. It's smaller and it's all on one level," explained Shannon, holding on to her shoulder.

Stella left her hand resting on Shannon's leg, needing the physical contact to believe that she was real. She drove as fast and as steadily as she could on the way to her apartment. She realised that they had a problem as she parked the car as close to the door as she possibly could.

"How are we going to get you up the stairs?" she asked, grabbing their bags from the back seat and opening the passenger door.

"I'll hop, as long as you hold on to me," she smiled, letting herself drop to the pavement.

Just limping across to the door required a lot of effort from Shannon and she was sweating by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs. A usual two minute walk up three flights of stairs took them closer two twenty five minutes and they had to stop several times, Shannon cursing Stella's choice to live on the third floor.

"Why did you have to live on the third floor?"

"You wanted to stay here," she argued as she opened the door and half carried Shannon to the left side of the bed.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"You're welcome," replied Stella. "Okay, some food for you and then you can have your pain killers."

Stella set about making dinner for the two of them; it was after seven pm and they were both starving. A simple stir-fry had to be fed to Shannon as it was a bit difficult to do it right handed when she was left handed.

"I'm gonna be such a pain in the arse for the next week," mumbled Shannon, using Stella's stomach as a pillow while her pain killers took effect.

"I'm okay with that," said the younger woman, kissing Shannon's cheek gently. "Go to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

Stella spent the next hour running her fingers through Shannon's hair until she drifted off to sleep herself.

* * *

Thought's? I love posting before I go to bed, because then I wake up to these emails saying I have reviews! LOL


	8. The 'I Love You's'

OKAY, sorry about the delay, I've been having some trouble with keeping Shannon/Stella in my head after that shitty ending to season 3 where Stella willingly kissed Michael and Lawson and Shannon's horrific attempt at sekretly flirting (EPIC FAIL!). That, and I'm currently babysitting my niece and nephew, the week leading up to christmas so probs get very little time alone to write. I will try for one more chapter before boxing day! If I dont get there; MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH etc etc to all of your personal holidays

Hopefully I will be able to get another chapter up. Your reviews will keep my going!

TheSweetestThing: Yeah, I had an inkling to use that idea of Stella afraid of storms for a one shot but I couldn't work it so this fic got it instead.

HappyHereford: Thank you

Vicky: Kerry is basically their moral support until Lawson and the gang find out

LadyBelle84: Thanks. If you were pleasantly surprised with chapter seven's length, you should love this one. 7000+ freak words. 1500+ more than the last one. I didn't mean it I swear, but I know you all like long chapters :)

In A Rush: I do try to be surprising, I doesn't always work though. Enjoy this one :)

PS Unbeta'd so ignore any mistakes.

PPS this chapter is kind of vague though I'm sure you can all fill in the gaps. most of this will be explained in the next several chapters. I haven't decided how long to make it go on for.

* * *

Technically, Shannon wasn't allowed back on active duty with Tactical Response for at least six weeks. Her shoulder had been dislocated four weeks ago. Kerry had taken pity on her when she arrived at work after five days of being couped up at Stella's apartment and agreed to let her stick around the offices while Stella was out on patrol. It didn't take much more coaxing and note signed by Shannon's physical therapist (who had been lulled into a false sense of security about Shannon's health) for the Inspector to let the Sergeant back out onto patrol. Kerry promptly placed her in TR1 with Lawson and Christian, so someone would actually keep an eye on her, rather than joke around all shift in the car.

Shannon was able to cope on her own after a week, walk around without limping, wash herself, even drive herself to her physical therapy sessions and work. But there was something oddly comforting in coming home to Stella, about being there when the younger woman opened the front door and smiled warmly at her, or was able to wake up in the mornings content to simply stare. So she kept postponing the date when she would move back home into her own house. Even though they had yet to say it to each other, they were falling in love; Stella had already fallen hard.

It was her first day back on active duty, having already been congratulated by Stella that morning in the form of a long make-out session, Shannon felt comfortable enough to be able to perform her duty to the high standards of the Tactical Response Unit. That was until she was pushed firmly in the shoulder by an offender.

TR1 had been called out to a domestic dispute between a husband and wife in the city's suburban outskirts. They were yelling in the front room of the house which was easily heard by the neighbours who quickly called the police and expressed their fears for the little six year old girl who lived there with her parents. It was the little girl who opened the door when Lawson knocked on the door.

Shannon's heart broke when she saw her fading black eye.

"Hi, my name is Christian," said the Samoan, and Shannon could hear his voice trailing off behind her as she followed Lawson further into the house. Being the only father on the team with kids under five, it was generally left up to Christian to keep an eye on any kids they came across during their shifts.

The fighting couple, a small woman with a temper as large as her hair was blonde and a man who had more clothes than he did in body weight, had taken no notice of the officers standing there until Shannon and Lawson moved to pull them apart and they screamed even louder for being interrupted.

It didn't take long for the husband and wife to quickly turn against their captors, the wife struggling fiercely in Shannon's grip. As she attempted to maintain a steady grip on the woman's arms, a flat palm connected several times with Shannon's barely healed shoulder until she relented in pain and let go entirely, sinking to her knees with a hand gripping her shoulder and tears building up in her eyes.

"Christian, get in here," she said into her comms. A moment later and he came thundering down the passage and ploughed into the room, plucking the small woman off her feet and into the far corner.

"Shannon, you want to go look after the kid?" struggled Lawson.

"Sure," she said, picking herself up and walking out of the lounge room to find the little girl.

She found her sitting on the veranda seat with a teddy bear. Her mousy brown hair was dishevelled and her feet were bare.

"Hi," she said softly, offering a smile as to not frighten the child even more.

"Where's Chris?"

Shannon automatically assumed that she was talking about Christian and went with that, adjusting the pressure she had on her shoulder. "The man who was out here with you just before?" The little girl nodded. "He had to go inside and help our friend Lawson. My name is Shannon. What's yours?"

"My name is Shannon, too!" Little Shannon smiled so widely that you could see her missing baby teeth.

"Really?" she asked. "And who's this?" Shannon pointed to the worn teddy bear in the girls arms.

"This is Charlie."

"That's a very good name for a teddy bear," agreed Shannon. She was beginning to feel a little warm from the pain and the weather. Melbourne weather was always so unpredictable that a snow storm was more likely to hit the beach that it was the mountains. "It's very hot out here. I think we have some icey poles in the car. Would you like one?"

Little Shannon's eyes went wide. Something smashed down the hall and Lawson started yelling. Both Shannon's turned to the open front door expecting someone to come running out of the house.

"What do you say?" asked Shannon, smiling again.

"Mummy and Daddy always said to never get in the car with strangers, or to take anything they give you."

"That's a very good rule. You should remember that," said Shannon, agreeing with the parents on at least one thing. She decided she needed to get the little girl away from the house, if at least into yard and closer to the fence; things were getting rather violent in the house. "Do you know who I am?"

Little Shannon shook her head no.

"I'm a police officer," explained the older woman, struggling to fish out her badge. When she did, she handed it to the little girl sitting next to her. The smashing and yelling was getting closer to the front door. "Why don't you hold on to that for me and we can go sit in the car so we don't get hurt."

Shannon stood and held her hand out and waited. Hesitantly, little Shannon took her hand and gripped her teddy bear and the badge tighter and she was led down the garden path to the TR car. Shannon opened the back door, and settled the little girl into the seat sideways, her feat hanging out over the nature strip. Difficultly, the Sergeant found two sunny boy's in Christian's little cooler and cut the top off, handing one to the girl and keeping the other one.

"Shannon, do you know what happened today?"

Little Shannon instantly went quiet and focused on the badge, Charlie the teddy bear and the police badge in her lap. Shannon Henry felt her heart break again for this little girl sitting in front of her. It brought back memories of the times when she was six years old. The police had visited seven times in one month, and not done anything. That was part of the reason she joined the force.

"Shannon you have to tell me what happened. Who hurt you?"

It was a struggle to get the words out, but Shannon wasn't sure if it was from the physical pain in her shoulder or the emotional pain that felt like it was squashing her chest.

"Who hurt you, sweetie?"

A mumble came out of the little girl and Shannon knelt down to look at her properly.

"What did you say?"

"Daddy. Daddy hurt me," she said, before she started crying, jumping from her seat in the car and wrapping her arms around Shannon's neck, her sunny boy lay forgotten on the seat. "And then they started yelling. All they do is yell." This little girl with knotted and unkempt hair was a reminder to Shannon, a surreal flashback into her own childhood and the cruelty she had overcome to get to where she was in life. Her mind flooded with memories and fear as she dreaded the idea of having to tell Stella one day.

Reaching stiffly around the upset little girl for her comm's, Shannon let Kerry know about the situation. "Kerry, I think we need some uniforms down here, a social worker and an ambulance."

Christian and Lawson exited the house, the wife stumbling with a gash on her forehead. Her husband was being pulled behind them by Christian, continuing to yell and scream.

It was fifteen minutes before the uniformed officers and the ambulance arrived, lights flashing silently. According to Kerry, a social worker wasn't able to come and get little Shannon and she would have to go back to the base with TR1. Shannon kept the little girl on the other side of the car so her parents couldn't see her. Her father, Ross, began yelling for her as soon as his wife was placed in the back of a marked police car. That only made her cling tighter to Shannon's hand. On the way back to base, Shannon sat with one hand holding an icepack to her sore shoulder, one finger on her other hand held tightly in the scared little girls grip for the whole trip.

The social worker was waiting with Kerry when they arrived back at base, their shift having ended twenty minutes before. Shannon could see Stella and Josh in the locker room getting ready to leave and her heart ached.

"Okay, let's get you out of the car. Come on," said Shannon, lifting her new friend out of the back seat and onto the garage floor. She knelt down in front of the little girl and readjusted the teddy bear, "You see that women over there, with the briefcase?"

She nodded slowly, eyeing the woman up before turning to look back at the adult in front of her.

"You're going to have to go with her. She's going to take care of you, and she won't let anyone hurt you ever again," said Shannon, smiling to reassure her points to the little girl.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Shannon. Especially to kids."

She suddenly heard Lawson in her ear and pulled her ear piece out to dangle over her vest. She glared at him as he walked passed.

"What about mummy and daddy?"

"They can't hurt you anymore. Now you take of Charlie, okay?"

If it was possible, she felt her heart break even more as the social worker took little Shannon's hand and began leading her out to the parking lot to take her to children's services. The six year old turned sharply and ran back, thrusting Shannon's police badge into her hands and then walking back to the social worker. Shannon smiled and waved until the little girl disappeared from her view. A tear dropped down her face and Lawson wanted a word. She told him to back off for a moment and rushed off to the bathrooms.

Stella watched in silence from the entry to the locker room as her girlfriend kept her head down and a hand to her face all the way up the hall.

Everyone was staring after Shannon.

"Alright, alright. Get back to work," said Kerry. She looked at Stella and gave a swift flick of her head, telling the young officer to go and check on her, before turning back to Lawson to discuss the case.

Stella entered the small room as quietly as possible, dropped her bag just inside the bathroom door, stuffed her phone into her jeans pockets and locked the door behind her. If she was going to check on Shannon, she didn't want anyone walking in while she was comforting her girlfriend. Shannon was bent over the sink, openly sobbing. Her ballistics vest was dumped on the floor carelessly next to her. She didn't even see Stella in the mirror.

A gentle hand on her back prompted Shannon to stand up straight as try to restrain her tears. Their reflections side-by-side showed Stella how red and wet Shannon's face was, and it didn't look like it was going to clear up anytime soon.

"Hey," offered the younger woman. "You okay?"

Shannon sniffed loudly and nodded. Stella didn't believe her.

"You wouldn't be crying if you were okay. What's going on?"

Stella knew that if she pushed too hard, too fast she would get nowhere with her girlfriend. When push came to shove, Shannon shut down and refused to answer, by either ignoring them or avoiding them. Shannon struggled to get her breathing under control before she answered, turning around to face the younger woman.

"That little girl – she was only six. She had a black eye, Stel," explained Shannon softly. It didn't take Stella long to connect the dots, sighing loudly as she slid her hands over Shannon's hips. "Her dad was using her as a punching bag."

"I know it's disgusting what some so-called parents can do to their kids, but what's got you so upset about this one little girl?"

Stella leant her forehead against Shannon's, maintaining her gaze for the silence as she waited for Shannon to answer. She felt her girlfriend tense slightly at the word 'disgusting' and then quickly relax under her touch.

"Her name is Shannon. I guess I just, I don't know, felt a connection to this kid."

Lips pressed themselves against her forehead. The next words almost made her look up in disbelief but Shannon kept her head down.

"I know that's not all of it, but I'm not going to push. You can tell me when you're ready," said Stella, smiling gently. A finger under Shannon's chin to lift her head. "When you're ready."

"We've only been together for two months. How can read me so easily?" Shannon asked, looking up feeling more surprised than upset. She put her hands on either side of Stella's head, brushing loose strands of hair. It was becoming more common for the two women to have small moments physically and emotionally wrapped up in each other, almost as if trying to read the others mind.

"It's a gift," exclaimed Stella, shrugging off the comment and leaning in for a quick kiss.

A loud knock came on the door and jerked them from their comfortable position.

"Hurry up, I need to use the toilet!" yelled Michael.

"Go find a bush outside!" answered Stella, kissing Shannon one more time and wiping her tears away with her thumbs. "Whenever you're ready, okay?"

"Yeah," she answered, each of them picking up their own items. Stella unlocked the door and Michael tumbled in scurrying for the closest toilet.

Lawson was waiting as soon as they stepped out, arms crossed over his chest leaning against the red brick wall. A deep, thoughtful look gracing is worn features. He looked up suddenly when Shannon walked out, followed by Stella. "You and I need to talk."

"I'll wait for you in the locker room. Good luck," whispered Stella, offering a wink after Lawson had already walked away.

Glad that she was able to make Shannon smile, Stella walked back to the locker room with a smile on her face, ready for a small round of 'go fish' with Josh. He had some time to kill before he had to go pick up Tash from work.

"Come on then you wanker. Prepare to lose," she laughed, plopping down onto the platform and Josh tried to stare her down. Her mind was on whatever Lawson wanted to talk to Shannon about.

Lawson had taken Shannon into Kerry's office, his arms still crossed. It was a struggle to tell if he was angry or confused at Shannon's behaviour or reaction to the little girl.

"What's going on with you?" he asked, accusingly as his eyes squinted in concentration.

"What do you mean?"

"You never make a promise you can't keep, especially to a kid, Shannon. You know that!"

"She's scared Lawson. She was being beaten by her father, being neglected by both of them. All kids need is some reassurance when they're scared. That's all I was trying to do, Lawson!"

"There is something going on with you, and I don't just mean about this kid. Your whole attitude is different lately and I want to know why!"

"This is bullshit. Stella was right. You can't let a thing just be a thing. Yet when we call you on your bloody Kronin obsession, that's nothing."

There was an awkward silence where Lawson continued to stare at Shannon, and Shannon thought of why her attitude had been different during recent times and came up with an easy answer: Stella. But she wasn't about to tell Lawson that.

"There is something different about you and I can't figure it out. Are you dating someone?" he asked. Lawson's voice had become quiet, almost cracking and he was getting closer to Shannon, only inches from her face.

"That's none of your business if I am," she said. His closeness was putting her on edge; the only person that Shannon was comfortable having that close was Stella.

"If it's going to have your mood changing like this, it is my business. It would be irresponsible leadership on my part if your moods got in the way of you doing your job!"

"That's a piss poor excuse. You just want to know. Fine, yes, if you really must know. I'm dating someone, and it has nothing to do with my changing moods!"

This caught Lawson off guard and he moved back slightly looking deflated at her confession.

"Who is he?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you. I've talked to Kerry, okay?" she said, moving for the door pointing a finger at him. Her hand was on the handle when a hand gripped her upper arm and pulled her back. Shannon was pulled back to Lawson and suddenly his lips were on hers. Her eyes went wide and she struggled to understand what was going on as she pushed him away.

"What are you doing?" Shannon stood back shocked. "This isn't happening."

"Whoever he is, he's not good enough for you Shannon."

"What, and you are?" she said sarcastically. "There is no guy, Lawson."

He stood back confused and then smiled hopefully. "So you're single?"

"No. I'm not single. This didn't happen, Lawson."

Shannon walked out of the office more angry than she had been upset when they returned. Stella was sitting alone in the locker room playing solitaire, Josh having left moments before to pick up Tash. She looked up and smiled sweetly, her grin faltering when Shannon walked pasted her without bothering to look. The older woman opened her locker and stared into it, a picture of herself and Stella as 'friends' stuck to the back wall, before she slammed it shut as hard as she could, bracing her hands on her hips.

Stella jumped. "Shan, what's going on?"

"Can we just leave? Just let me get changed and we can leave?" Shannon was almost pleading with her girlfriend.

"Yeah, sure. Hey," said Stella catching her as she began to turn around again. "What's going on?"

"I tell you about it when we get home," she mumbled.

"Okay," smiled Stella. Even though her smile was reassuring and loving, her eyes told a different story filled with worry and doubt. She reached passed Shannon into the locker and grabbed the car keys sitting on the top shelf. "I'll meet you in the car?"

Shannon nodded and accepted the kiss to her temple, watching her girlfriend walk out. She felt guilty, even though she didn't initiate the kiss between her and Lawson, she still felt guilty, like she had cheated on Stella. She hoped that the younger woman would understand. Stripping right there in the middle of the locker room, not fussed about being seen just desperate to get home, Shannon changed into her civilian clothes as fast as she could, not wanting anything to do with Lawson Blake or Tactical Response for the time being.

Shannon had had a shit first day back at work.

Stella was sitting in the driver's seat, engine running when Shannon came out three minutes later, fingers tapping on the steering wheel as she tried to figure out what was wrong with Shannon. As soon as the passenger door had opened, Stella immediately asked whose house they were going too.

"Mine. I just want my own bed tonight," said Shannon, leaning her head against the headrest. "With you in it."

"Okay," said Stella, driving off towards North Melbourne. A few minutes in silence were tense, and Stella could no longer keep quiet. "What did Lawson want?"

Shannon shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to avoid the topic. "I'll tell you when we get home."

Stella tried to get back to Shannon's as fast as she could; she beat her record and arrived at the two-storey flat ten minutes later. The car hadn't even fully stopped when Shannon hopped out and walked into the house, not a word to Stella, who parked the SUV and followed Shannon in through the back door. She was leaning into the corner of the kitchen bench.

"Alright, you're freaking me out. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?"

"Lawson kissed me."

Stella stood still and she could have sworn she heard a cricket chirp somewhere in the house. "Huh?"

"When Lawson wanted a word," started Shannon, going into the detail of her conversation with her boss. During the explanation, Stella had sat down in a chair at the small dining table in the middle of the kitchen and listened carefully. Shannon had not once in all Stella's time of knowing the older woman, given the impression that she would stray from a relationship. "And then I walked out."

"Why didn't you tell me when we were at the base?"

"Because I didn't want you to do anything stupid. You love your job. I don't want you to lose it because you knocked out the boss."

Stella smiled softly for a moment and then asked the question that had been first to pop into her mind when Shannon uttered the words 'Lawson kissed me'.

"Why did you tell me? Why not lie?"

"I felt guilty."

"Why did you feel guilty?"

"Because he wasn't you."

Stella stared carefully for a moment before she stood up and strode the two and a half steps to Shannon, closing the distance rapidly, kissing Shannon on the mouth deeply. It was like their first kiss all over again, tingling sensations and fireworks and no one else in the world but the two of them. Shannon was the first to pull away.

"Wait, you're not mad?"

"Not at you," said Stella, her nose brushing Shannon's softly. "I am going to punch Lawson as hard as I can in the face when I see him though."

"Stel, he didn't know."

"You told him you were dating someone before he kissed you. So what if he doesn't know it's me that you're dating, you still told him you weren't single!"

Shannon pulled the younger woman closer to her, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. "That's Lawson; always wanting what he can't have. What if we just tell him?"

"At this rate, the whole team will know by Christmas!" Stella smiled, knowing they would no doubt be humiliated by their teammates for humour, and she knew it would take a toll on their relationship. "I thought we wanted to keep this to ourselves."

"We do," agreed the older woman, "but, it would get him off my back about liking me. Maybe he won't kiss me again."

"I guess I just wanted you to myself for a while," grumbled Stella, pouting. "We can tell him, if he puts the moves on you again. And then I get to punch him in the face." Shannon laughed lightly at her girlfriends antics and bent her neck to place a chaste kiss onto her lips.

"Time for some dinner," said Shannon, moving for the fridge but was playfully trapped against the countertop. They spent a long few minutes reassuring themselves of their feelings for the other.

* * *

Over the following week, Lawson barely said a word to Shannon, let alone looked at her after her confession that she was dating a woman. Stella was still dying to punch him, but had become swiftly distracted by Shannon pinning her to the couch, or the kitchen bench, or any surface where she could be pinned and kissed. The younger woman was often subdued with a soft smile on her face, or a confused look gracing her features, asking 'what were we talking about?'

Shannon simply laughed at her, and proceeded to re-pin her down. There had been no more discussions of Shannon's issue with the little girl being abused; Stella had followed through on her promise of not to push the topic.

The night after Lawson had kissed Shannon, Stella had gone home alone after work. Her small apartment was left feeling empty and too big for one person. The bed felt even emptier and colder, and Stella spent over an hour trying to get to sleep while flicking through her photos on her phone of her and her girlfriend. This made it even harder for her to drift off.

The couple had come to the conclusion that a little time apart wouldn't be a bad thing. Many times they had come close to blowing Shannon's celibacy vow to smithereens. Besides, they'd still see each other at work and hang out every few nights.

On their third night apart, Shannon had dropped Stella at the front of the building and as usual they had spent nearly fifteen minutes making out in the front seat like a pair of horny teenagers.

"Are we really going to sit in the front seat of your car and make out all night?" asked Stella, in between kisses.

"Yeah," smiled the older woman.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

When Stella finally got out of the car, her grin was so big as Shannon as drove off that her cheeks were so sore that it hurt to keep a straight face. She was sure that her smile wasn't going to fade, even though she had to be back at base by ten pm for the night shift patrol. She reluctantly trudged up the stairs to her apartment to get some sleep, meeting the building's maintenance man on her way.

"Hey, Dayle," she offered, thinking dreamily about her girlfriend.

"Hey, Stella. Good day at work?"

Dayle wasn't much older than Stella, or taller. His hair was ratty and his eyes were grey, covered by thin rimmed glasses. A stocky build and a slightly pudgy face covered in stubble with baggy clothes, a short sleeve shirt over a long sleeve top was covered in little smudges. He partially leered at Stella as they met on the stairs.

The young senior constable had moved into the apartment building four years before and Dayle was hired for building maintenance two years later. Often when she was coming home from work, she would catch him on the stairs or by a window, staring. He had gotten the courage to start talking to her a year and a half after he started working in the Fitzroy building.

"Yeah, it was alright," she said, shaking her head as she focussed on the man in front of her.

"That's good. Who was that dropping you off? I see her all the time," he wondered out loud.

"That's my girlfriend," admitted Stella proudly, her mind returning to the older woman once again. "Since I've got you here, are you able to take a look at the sliding door on my balcony? It's jammed shut."

"Yeah, sure. You want me to do that now?"

"If you don't mind?"

"It's no worries. I'll just go grab my toolbox," he smiled, before half-skipping down the stairs to the maintenance storeroom.

Stella had always found Dayle to be a little odd, and had admitted to herself several times that even though he looked harmless, she was sure he could become extremely violent. There was just something about him that she couldn't put her finger on whenever she saw him. She shook her head of her thoughts and went upstairs to quickly clean up. Stella didn't need him seeing her clothes all over the place, especially any underwear she might have laying about.

He arrived just seconds after she had swept her clothes just inside the bathroom and closed the door.

"Have at it," she said pointing to the glass door in the far corner. He nodded and went to work. Stella turned around and began to make herself something to eat.

Dayle was in there for nearly half an hour and ended up pulling the whole handle and lock off the door and resetting it. A few times she caught him staring at her as she ate her dinner in the kitchen, watching the TV.

"Thanks, Dayle," she said, smiling as she opened the door for him.

"No problem. If you can just sign this, so I can get paid," he tried to joke and handed her a clipboard.

Stella quickly signed it and shuffled him out the front door politely, sighing against the door and rolling her eyes. Her phone rang and she smiled as she saw the id: Shannon Henry.

Stella arrived at home from work the next morning (Tactical Response had done a fourteen hour shift, working through the night) completely wiped out, ready to crash on her bed without changing and sleep the day away. Her shoes, jacket and bag had been dumped on the floor, the keys by the door, and Stella flipped herself onto her bed. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up.

Something wasn't right in her apartment. Someone had been in there.

It took her nearly half an hour to figure out what was different about the small loft. On the breakfast counter of the kitchen bench was a glass vase, sitting perfectly still as if it belonged there on her bench. It was full of Lilly's. Stella took a moment in her exhausted state to remember where they came from. Shannon hadn't given her any flowers and she hadn't bought any.

Stella had no idea where they had come from.

As she inspected the vase, she couldn't see any fingerprints on the pristine glass. She was beginning to freak out, but decided that the only reason she couldn't remember where the flowers came from was because she was so tired. She didn't get any sleep after she had spotted the vase and called Kerry, a forensics team was sent out. A pair of uniformed officers were sent out to her apartment along with the forensics team and asked her a series of questions.

"You're sure they weren't there before you left? Have you received any threats? Have you noticed anyone or anything out of place? Have you noticed anyone following you? Does anyone have access to the apartment besides yourself?"

Needless to say, she was late for her shift.

"Can you keep this between us, Kerry?" asked Stella, as soon as she arrived at the base. Her Inspector quickly agreed and then repeated the questions the uniformed officers had asked.

"No, they weren't. No threats. Nothing out of place, besides the flowers. I'm pretty sure no one has been following me. No one but me and my landlord, she has a spare key in case I lock myself out or there's an emergency."

Lawson had decided they all needed to catch up on paperwork after their shift and held them back until four pm. A fourteen hour night shift slowly turned into a sixteen hour night shift. Thankfully, they had the next day off.

"You okay? You've been yawning all day," he said, as they began their paperwork.

"Yeah, just couldn't sleep after yesterdays shift," said Stella, risking a glance across the desk at Shannon.

Shannon shrugged at Josh and turned around when she heard Kerry call her name.

"Shannon, you've got a visitor at reception."

"Okay, thanks Kerry."

Shannon walked away, chuckling at Josh's question of Stella, 'so did you get some last night?'

'_She wishes,_' thought Shannon, arriving at reception with a smile on her face. The young man at the reception desk saw her and pointing to her visitor. She followed the finger and her smile dropped immediately.

"Hey, honey," smiled the older man, standing up with his arms open showing her that he hoped for a hug.

Shannon didn't say anything, but turned to the receptionist and told him not to let the man through and that if he came back to turn him away, before heading back to the offices. Her mind was reeling as she sought out Kerry, feeling as if it took a lifetime to find her boss. After five minutes of searching, she found the Inspector coming out of the toilets.

"Ah, Kerry, I need to go home."

"Shannon, are you okay?"

Kerry noticed that the younger woman suddenly seemed paler than her natural complexion. She was also stiff and unfocussed on everything except getting out of the building. Her breathing was deep and unnaturally laboured.

"Yeah, yeah. I, uhh, just need to go home. I pretty much finished my report. Please?" pleaded Shannon. She had begun to shake and Kerry was beginning to worry.

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you want Stella to go with you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine. Stella needs to, uhh, finish her paperwork. She's a little behind."

"Is this about whoever came to visit you?"

"Kind of."

Kerry knew that Shannon wasn't going to give up anymore than that and agreed.

"Okay, get out of here. If you need anything, give me a call."

"Thanks Kerry. If Stel asks, tell I went home?"

"Yeah, 'course."

Shannon nodded in acceptance, and slowly turned. Her mind was only focussing on getting out of the building. She was so desperate to leave, that in her haste she forgot her keys and had to go back. Shannon decided to take a long way home, and doubled back every so often in an attempt to make sure she wasn't being followed by her visitor. As soon as she got home, Shannon locked the door behind her and triple checked every lock in the house. Now that she was alone she felt more scared.

"How did he find me? What is he doing here? What does he want?" raced through her mind and out of her mouth so many times as she paced the kitchen that she lost track of which question she was answering.

The gears turned to a memory and she followed it up stairs into the spare room's closet, a box sitting on the top shelf right at the back. She pulled it out slowly. It was a photocopy of a police report that was twenty-three years old. A tear slid down her face as she opened it.

It was nearly an hour until Stella decided to ask where her girlfriend had gone. She had left to meet a visitor at reception and never come back.

"Hey Kerry, where'd Shan go?"

"Home. Said she wasn't feeling well."

Stella looked slightly crestfallen that she had missed saying goodbye, that she missed seeing her one last time before she went home alone.

"Was she okay?"

"I don't think so. She seemed off about something. It's like whoever was at reception for her scared the crap out of her; she was paler and shaking. She told me to tell you that she went home. She never said anything about wanting some time alone. If you've finished your report, I'll take you over there," offered Kerry.

"You're the best, just let me get changed and get my stuff."

Stella had never gotten changed so fast. She practically ran out to Kerry's car in the garage, who had decided to take her time in walking out of the offices. Stella fixed her with a look that told her to 'hurry up', whether or not she was the boss.

"So what's going on?" asked Kerry, as they just merged into traffic outside the city's central business district.

"What do you mean?"

"Both of you seem so, oh I don't know, pathetic when you go home after shift."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you. She's gonna kill me for telling you this," explained Stella.

"First and foremost, you're my officer. Whatever you tell me, Will stay between us. Especially about your relationship with Shannon."

Stella took several moments before she said anything. "She's taken a vow of celibacy. No sex for a year."

"And what, you pressuring her about it?"

"NO! I wouldn't do that. It's the opposite; I'm supporting it. When she was staying at mine after the accident, we came close to breaking her vow. Several times. We agreed that we should back off a little so she could stick to it. We spent a month waking up to each other and now my apartment feels so empty when I go home. I don't get to wake up to her, so when I have to go home I guess I just miss her."

"The two of you are so sappy," said Kerry, grinning smugly. The older woman could remember when she was like that with her ex-husband.

"Yeah, I know."

Stella smiled and realised that during their conversation they had arrived at Shannon's. All the lights in the house were on. That never happened.

"You gonna be right with this? She seemed quite upset earlier."

"Yeah. Thanks, Kerry," said Stella, getting out of the car and leaning back through the open door.

"No worries."

They shared a soft smile and Stella headed towards the front gate. The curtains were closed. Stella knocked twice on the heavy door. There was silence on the other side so she knocked again. There were heavy footsteps down the carpeted stairs and there was the tentative voice of her girlfriend.

"Who is it?"

"It's me. You gonna let me in?" The door opened a crack and Stella smiled, stuffing her hands into her back pockets. The opened fully and she was pulled into the house quickly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

It was quickly obvious that Shannon had been crying and the younger woman let her bag fall to the floor as she tried to wrap her arms around her girlfriend. She was pushed away.

"What's going on? Have I done something? Why are you so upset?"

Stella gulped and allowed herself to be pulled upstairs into the master bedroom. Shannon silently told her to sit down and disappeared into the spare room across the hall, coming back with the police folder. She sat down across from Stella and took her hand.

"You remember when you told me I could tell you whenever I was ready? About why I was upset that day with the little girl?"

Stella nodded and took in the older woman's frightened look.

Shannon let her hand pat the file folder on her lap. "Do you also remember me telling you on our first date that Tony is an arsehole, that he was never around when I was growing up?"

Stella nodded. "These two things are related?"

"Yeah. This is why," said Shannon, holding the folder for Stella to take. "On both counts."

Stella took it and barely heard Shannon's next words. "Please, don't hate me."

"I could never hate you," reassured Stella, taking Shannon's hand before she began to read the file. It didn't take long for Stella to get the main page of the file, identifying the crime, the offender and the accuser.

Shannon could see Stella's jaw clenching and her eyes getting darker as she read each word. As she finished the page, she looked up to Shannon with flickering eyes, trying to understand what she was reading as if it wasn't true, it couldn't be true.

"He did this to you?" asked Stella, her voice breaking.

Shannon nodded.

"I'm sorry that he did that," said the young woman, offering a watery smile.

"If you want to leave, I understand."

"Shannon, I'm not going to leave. And I certainly don't hate you for something you couldn't control." Stella closed the file, wishing she could burn it and kneeled on the floor in front of Shannon, gripping her hands firmly. "I'm not leaving because I love you."

"You love me?"

"I love you."

Shannon's sigh was one of relief, as she buried her face into her hands.

"I thought you would take it so much worse than what you are," she admitted, peaking through her fingers.

"It'll take some time to process, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I left you alone when you were this upset for something that wasn't my fault?" joked Stella, trying to lift the grim mood that had settled in the room. Now her girlfriend had just revealed the big secret, while the forensics team was busy trying to figure out hers. She was starting to worry that she wasn't going to get a decent night's sleep anytime soon.

Shannon smiled. "I love you, too."

They shared a soft kiss; Stella could feel Shannon visibly relax under her hands. The Senior Constable took the file from the bed and tossed it onto the floor, before shrugging off her jacket and settling comfortably on the bed, pulling her girlfriend to her.

"So what got you all upset earlier? Kerry mentioned that you left right after you met your visitor at reception." Stella's hands were running up and down Shannon's back.

Shannon tensed again in her arms and Stella consciously decided that the feeling of her girlfriend tensing was not a feeling that she liked.

"My visitor. It was _him_."

* * *

So? What did you think?


	9. The Takedown

Okay, I'm pretty sure each chapter is going to outdo the previous one by length every time. It won't be long before we are up to 20,000 words a chapters (WTF!). Okay, this one is mainly so long, because** it revolves around episode 8 aka the one with the train and arresting Andrew Kronin. **There were a few scenes in there that I loved and just had to put in here, and I added an extra character to have it make sense and end the shit with Shannon's father.

Unbeta'd as usual, I'm tired and it's Christmas Day. Yay, work in ten hours. PS I told you I would get another chapter up before boxing day.

TheSweetestThing: I know it's not very close to the original summary, but we are getting there haha. just very slowly.

hiddendesire85: merry xmas to you too, enjoy this update and consider it a gift

HappyHereford: I had hoped that he would have died, but it was unlikely seeing as they already killed Dom. but this story is not the same as the series, obviously, so we'll see.

In A Rush: this writing wasn't very happy. I need some inspiration people! Come on. This chapter doesn't really going into detail on the whole Stella's got a stalker thing, but it touches on it. this one is mainly about Shannon and her father and the crap she went through as a child. this will go into the next chapter slightly. PS thanks for the vote of confidence in my not needing a beta :P

Vicky: it's nice to know I'm not the only one who hated the season finale. But I shall re-write it with as Shannon/Stella twist that we can all live with :) I will definately be erasing Stella/Michael from our lives with this story. or at least I will try too.

K: even if you're not a fan, come along its cool. thanks for the comment.

* * *

Shannon woke with a start late the next morning, or rather early in the afternoon. Her eyes had snapped open only to shut rapidly as the midday sun penetrated her bedroom. She had forgotten to close the blinds again. Immediately, she felt sick, but Shannon had difficulty identifying the cause of the feeling; every negative feeling under the sun was dancing right through her stomach on repeat. With closed eyes, she extended her arm to search the bed for her girlfriend who had been there the night before. Expecting to find the warm body of her snoring girlfriend, Shannon was slightly disappointed to be met with cool, empty sheets.

She eased her eyes open and took a squinted look around the room. Stella's bag and jacket were in the corner against the wall, so Shannon concluded that she must be flittering about the house and moved to seek out the younger woman. In her sleepy stupor, Shannon failed to notice the missing police file that had been chucked to the floor the night before. She trudged down the carpeted stairs of her two-storey unit in search of Stella and a hot cup of coffee. She hated working night shifts randomly in the middle of a comfortable pattern.

Stella was sitting at the kitchen bench, a cold mug of coffee forgotten on the side and the contents of the police file spread out in front of her. Shannon watched from the hallway as she hesitantly flipped another page, gulped and let a tear slide down her face. She couldn't take it after three tears and walked into the kitchen with the purpose of wiping away the drops.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked peaceful. Like I'm going to disturb that," said Stella, sniffling lightly and sighing.

Within seconds, they were in an embrace and didn't plan on letting go any time soon. A kiss was pressed to Stella's forehead and Shannon's voice broke the silence.

"What were you doing?"

She pointed a finger at the mass of paper covered in 'photocopy' stamps and Victorian Police watermarks and logos. It took Stella several moments before she answered, trying to formulate the words in her head into a workable sentence.

"Just...trying to understand, I guess."

"You freaking out?"

"More and more with every word that I read. But that's just me processing."

Stella was met with a look that doubted her explanation, so she tightened her grip around Shannon's waist from her position in the chair.

"I don't think I can talk about this anymore," said Shannon, releasing Stella and gathering the file up, slamming the front closed. Stella understood Shannon's frustration at the issue, but didn't want to push anything that would most likely end up in an argument. So Stella did the only thing she could thing of: stood up and kissed Shannon's cheek sweetly to calm her girlfriend, told her that she loved the older woman, and moved to make her a cup of coffee. They spent the next half an hour in silence on the couch in the lounge room.

"You look tired," spoke Shannon, tucking her legs under body and leaning closer to inspect Stella's eyes.

"That's because I am tired."

"How much sleep did you get last night?"

"A couple hours. Didn't get any before the night shift," she said, letting her head drop into Shannon's lap.

"Why not? Usually you pass out as soon as you hit the pillow," chuckled Shannon, as she remembered one afternoon during her stay at Stella's.

"You didn't happen to leave any flowers in my apartment did you? Some Lilly's in a clear glass vase?"

Stella hoped it was Shannon in an attempt to be romantic and couply, not the beginnings of someone with too much interest in the young Senior Constable.

"I don't have a key to get in, so I doubt it'd be me. Someone left you flowers?" Shannon's caring look regarding Stella's lack of sleep over three days suddenly turned to one of worry and confusion.

"Yeah, in my apartment. On the bench. No note, no nothing. I didn't get any sleep because I called Kerry who called forensics and some uniforms to try and figure it out," explained Stella, feeling increasingly sleepy from her spot in Shannon's lap. She let out a loud yawn.

"That's kind of creepy."

"Yeah tell me about it, and what's worse is that I have no idea how whoever got in, in the first place."

"Which means they had to have a key to get in," suggested Shannon.

"That's what I said."

"Who has a copy?" Shannon raised an eyebrow at her own question.

"No exes that I can remember, I got the copy back off of everyone that ever had it. Just me, my parents have one but I doubt it was them, and my landlord in case of emergencies."

Shannon's next words were interrupted by a faint knock at the front door. She glanced at the clock. Her sleeping patterns were out of sync; she was expecting it to be dark out due to her level of tiredness.

"I'll be right back," she said, helping Stella sit up slightly so she could get off the couch and answer the door.

"Okay," mumbled Stella.

The younger brunette had just settled herself back onto the couch when she heard Shannon's voice loud and clear from the hallway. She sounded frustrated again, and this got Stella's attention. It increased tenfold when she heard her girlfriend identify the visitor but she stayed lying on the couch.

"Lawson, what do you want? I wanted a day without work."

"I wanted to talk about what happened between us."

"Nothing happened Lawson," said Shannon.

"Something did. And you know it," he said.

Stella rolled her eyes.

"No, it didn't. I'm going to continue to ignore the fact that we kissed completely."

"Why?"

"Because Lawson, I have no feelings for you whatsoever. And on top of that, I told I'm not single."

"Who is he? I'll fight him for you," justified Lawson.

"I've told you, there is no guy."

Stella decided to make her tired self known to her boss. She sidled up behind Shannon with a slight grin on her face and looked at him, hoping he would connect the dots.

"Then who are you-"

Lawson looked between Shannon and Stella, having stopped mid-question with his hand raised. He looked slightly confused.

"Has it clicked yet?" asked Stella, moving closer to Shannon who leaned into Stella's presence next to her.

"Y-you t-t-two?" stuttered the Senior Sergeant.

"Yes," confirmed Shannon, gulping while she waited for Lawson to understand completely. He blinked several times before he nodded and furrowed his brow. "Why don't you come in? We can explain better, over coffee and sitting down."

Twenty minutes later and Lawson was still struggling to understand the concept of Shannon and Stella dating.

"So you've been together for two and a half months, and Kerry knows?"

Stella nodded into her coffee and took a long sip. She wanted desperately to go back to bed. Preferably with Shannon, but leant back against her spot of the kitchen bench anyway. If she got near Lawson during this particular conversation, Stella felt that she wouldn't be able to prevent herself from punching him.

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Kerry decided that if we stay inside some boundaries she set for us, and that she felt our relationship wasn't affecting our work, there'd be no need to tell you," explained Shannon. She shuffled slightly in her seat as she looked at him.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay? All you're going to say is okay?" asked Stella.

"What else do you want me to say, Stel? It's obvious to me that this is the cause of Shannon's mood swings."

"Hey!" warned the two women.

"Can I punch him now, babe?"

Shannon chuckled and motioned for him to continue.

"But looking back, it's also obvious that your relationship hasn't had any real effect on your work. As far as I can tell, you're both focussed when you're on the job. Did I miss anything?" he asked Stella as he finished his little speech.

"Yeah actually, you did. I was look for an apology for kissing my girlfriend," she prompted.

"Right. Sorry about that," he said, eyes downcast.

"Not just to me Lawson," said Stella pointedly as she fixed him with a hard glare. She relented when he mumbled an apology to Shannon.

"It's alright Lawson. Are you going to report us?"

"I'm going to have a chat to Kerry first. See what she says. For now, stay inside those boundaries she set," he said, standing up from the table, leaving his coffee cup where it was and smiling awkwardly.

They followed their boss to the door, politely seeing him off and Shannon called out to him as he reached the front gate. "Lawson?"

He turned back to face them.

"Can we keep this between us and Kerry?"

"Sure. You can tell the team whenever you're ready." And with that, Lawson Blake was gone.

"You think he's gonna say anything?" asked Stella softly, hugging Shannon from behind contentedly.

"Nah, he's harmless," she answered, leaning back into the embrace and closing the door.

As soon as the door was closed, Shannon let herself be pushed and trapped against it, smiling playfully as her back met the solid wood. Her captor soon yawned loudly into Shannon's neck and she laughed out loud.

"I think it's time I got you back to bed," said Shannon, expecting a reaction from her girlfriend. Stella pulled back, her eyes bleary but her expression dreamy as her mind began to flood with sexual thoughts. It didn't take long for a smirk to form and for her to wiggle her eyebrows suggestively. "Nice try. You need sleep."

"Not even just some kissing?" asked the brunette as innocently as she could, walking Shannon slowly up the stairs backwards.

"Maybe a little."

_'So much for catching up on sleep,'_ thought Shannon as she allowed Stella to pull her onto the bed.

Thoughts of stalkers and the reappearance of biological fathers and Lawson knowing soon left their minds along with everything else unless it was related to the woman in front of each other.

* * *

After being told of Shannon's relationship with another woman, a woman that was currently a member of TR, Lawson had quickly headed for the closest pub and gotten as many shots of Tequila and Vodka as he could before he was cut off. He arrived the next morning with a marching band playing in his head and glared at Stella from behind his sunglasses. He resented her for getting to Shannon before he could, but knew he didn't want to lose either as a friend. Or Kerry would kill him for jeopardising the team's working relationship.

Four days later and their sleeping patterns were relatively back to normal. The members of Tactical Response were huddled in the offices around Leon's desk, ready for a briefing half an hour before their shift was scheduled to start. Shannon and Stella were standing apart, focussed on Lawson and Kerry standing next to the large flat screen hanging on the back wall.

"Okay, Leon. An update on the Andrew Kronin front," said Lawson, being met with groans from everyone, even the office aides behind them. Leon remained quiet. "Hey, this is important."

"No, this is an obsession," said Michael. He was beginning to grow tired of the Kronin cloud that was constantly fogging Lawson's brain.

"Michael, the sooner he tells us, the less we have to hear about it," said Kerry, much to Michael's annoyance. "Spit it out Lawson."

"Andrew Kronin has a new associate. Someone who had gone off the radar for five years after getting out of prison. Small time arms dealer with big contacts: Anthony 'Tony' Layton."

Dread and fear flooded Shannon's stomach as the screen changed and Layton's criminal history appeared. It was an old photo but Shannon recognised him instantly and looked to Stella. It was her father. She stared back with the same sick feeling. Thankfully, his list of criminal offences disappeared under the edge of the screen so no one saw his full list of offences. Hopefully, no one would.

Shannon couldn't stare at the photo any longer and turned to rush off to the bathroom. As soon as she arrived in the small room, her breakfast left her mouth and fell into the toilet bowl, her breathing erratic. Spitting out the remains of her empty stomach, she flushed the toilet and went to the sink to rinse her mouth of the foul taste.

Stella looked at Kerry who silently told the younger woman that she would check on her. The Inspector told Lawson to continue as she left. Stella looked longingly after Shannon, but received a swift kick to the shins from Lawson when no one was looking.

"What's wrong with you? Are you getting sick?" asked Kerry after she entered the bathroom.

"If Lawson is going to be so insistent about going after Kronin, I can't work it," said Shannon. She was starting to panic and could feel the anxiety coming on.

"Why not?"

"It's a conflict of interest."

"What is?"

"Him, on the screen." Shannon refused to say his name.

"Layton? What about him?"

"He's my biological father. You would have read my whole report when you considered hiring me, Kerry."

"Yeah, everything was exemplary."

"Did you read _everything_?" Kerry looked at her blankly, needing a better cue. Sure she had read Shannon's service and personal records, but she hadn't memorised them, mainly just skimmed most of it. "Even the stuff from when I was eight years old?"

"Shit," said Kerry, finally clicking as to what Shannon was on about.

"It's a conflict of interest, I can't work it. And I don't want to tell Lawson."

"Hey, it's not like Lawson is going to order a takedown of Kronin and his little buddies today. He's just got Leon playing with the power, thinking I don't know about it."

"With the way he's going, we may as well be performing a takedown," said Shannon. Kerry knew this was true, as much as she wanted to deny it.

"Alright. Go finish the briefing, if they ask tell the others you've been feeling sick lately, but you're fine for now. We will figure this out after your shift," said Kerry, rubbing Shannon's arm comfortingly, offering a genuine smile and a nod of the head.

After a few moments, Shannon stared in the mirror and decided that she looked fine in the mirror, not as pale as she had been when his photo came up on the screen and her breathing had calmed down, she decided to re-enter the offices. As soon as she did, Stella's eyes sought out hers to silently ask her if she was okay. Shannon nodded and gave her a very poor attempt at a smile.

Thankfully, Tony Layton's criminal record was gone from the screen.

When Shannon came back to the group, Lawson paused in his speech about maintaining radio communication at all times to ask if she was alright.

"Yeah, just a bug, it's the end of it," she said, choosing on the spot to stick to Kerry's lie rather than make up her own.

Lawson nodded and went to continue but was interrupted again by Kerry coming back.

"Enough about the keeping the comms open. Your shift has started. Get out there," she said.

"Kerry, I'm not done," said Lawson, throwing his hands out to emphasise the importance of their briefing.

"Well, maybe if you didn't spend so much time talking about Kronin, you would have finished. Now leave," she said, effectively closing down the conversation.

Everyone chuckled at her comment and moved out to the garages.

"Hey, shut up," he said to Stella and Michael who were still grinning and giggling as they came closer to the cars. "Shannon and Christian, with me. You two with Josh."

"Go east and west of the north sector!" yelled Kerry.

Josh and Lawson played 'rock, paper, scissors' to choose sides. Josh's paper beat Lawson's rock and TR2 was taking the east side.

Less than an hour into their shift, it was still early morning and a low fog was hanging over the northern Melbourne suburbs. The TR cars were quiet and there had been no real need for patrol this early. Until Kerry's voice came over their comms.

"High level situation, guys. Leon. An information packet just came through for you." Leon immediately started typing away hurriedly, opening the information packet and dragging out maps, video files and a GPS tracker drifting slowly across a small portion of a map. Kerry took over for Lawson and everyone gathered in closer.

"Right, fifteen minutes ago, a passenger-freight train missed several stations, going through them well over one hundred k's. So far there have been no successful attempts at contacting the driver. Josh and Lawson, I'm going to meet you out at the airfield with your equipment, girls you drop them off. The chopper is going to airlift the two of you onto that train," explained Kerry, as she ran to her car, tucking her ear piece into her ear. "Leon is going to send you the info that you need."

"Got it Kerry," they said and both cars did a u-turn towards the airfield that housed the police helicopter.

A few minutes later (the airfield wasn't that far off) Stella skidded to a halt on the gravel road and Shannon nearly ran into her at the sudden stop. The boys jumped out, and the cars were off again. What would have been a twenty minute drive out to the beginning of country land and the end of suburbia, was easily cut down to ten minutes as Stella sped through local traffic, lights and sirens on full ball. Shannon was struggling to keep up.

Michael directed Stella onto a dirt road. There were at least five minutes off.

"Guy's, you're going to have to motor. Josh and Lawson are making their approach."

"Any more info, Kerry?" asked Michael. In Stella's opinion, he was too comfortable in Lawson's usual seat of TR2.

"Oh, look, the railways can't get in touch with the driver. The train just keeps ploughing through the stations."

"What about cutting the electricity?" suggested Stella, risking taking a hand off the steering wheel at 120 k's to press her comms button.

"Nah, nah, nah, it's diesel," answered Leon. They could all hear his furious tying across his keyboard.

"Look, there's a road that runs along the track. You better get there asap," said Kerry, leaning over Leon's shoulder in the offices.

"We're already on that road, Kerry," said Shannon.

Christian spoke up for the first time since both cars had dropped their leaders at the airfield. "They always get to do the good shit, don't they?"

"Yeah," came from Shannon, Stella and Michael. At least Stella could hear Shannon smiling over their comms. It was better than her being quiet and moody.

Michael then mentioned the fact that Josh and Lawson were wearing harnesses. Shannon and Stella were slightly confused.

"Nut crushers."

"Jesus, we need some alpha males down here," exclaimed Stella.

"Hey, I am alpha."

"We're all alpha," agreed Michael.

Kerry didn't like their comical commentary of the situation and wanted them to drive in silence. That didn't happen. It finally came across their comms that the helicopter was in position above the train and that the boys were making their approach. Everyone stayed deathly quiet while they all waited for confirmation from either leader.

Stella only sped up as Lawson began to explain their findings on the train to Kerry. The passengers were unconscious as a result of a nerve toxin and it was a possibility that the driver was affected as well. Even though Leon was skimming the security cameras from the stations the train had stopped at, Lawson and Josh were still flying blind in the train, unaware of anything that was past their passenger cabin.

"Look, guys we need you to get a look in the drivers cabin before Josh and Lawson make their approach. Get as close as you can?" asked their boss.

"Copy that," said Michael, looking back at the growing distance between TR2 and TR1.

"You've only got a few more k's before the road veers away from the track," explained Leon.

"You want to put your foot down girls," suggested Kerry. "Let's get as close as we can, 'ey?"

Stella smiled and flattened her foot on the accelerator.

Michael pressed the button on his comms referring to Shannon and Stella in his next comment. "You two are worse than us boys."

"That is not possible," laughed Stella, keeping an eye on the train and the road.

Shannon had gone quiet and Stella was waiting for a moment to get a response from her girlfriend. With them being in separate cars, it was rather difficult for them to have a private conversation.

"So competitive," teased Michael.

Stella's grin only grew and she found her opportunity. Feigning innocence over the comms, Stella explained herself, "I'm not competing with Shannon. I'm showing her how to drive."

"Get stuffed, Stella," said Shannon, going along with the playfulness of their conversation and smiling at Christian.

It didn't take long for Stella to be proven right in one aspect of her comment about teaching her girlfriend how to drive. Shannon had been too focussed on the train that she didn't see Stella swerve to miss the pothole and drove right through it.

"Wipe out," called Michael. Stella looked in the rear view mirror.

Christian had his comms button held down.

"Ah, you're giving me whiplash, honey."

Shannon corrected the car and sped up to catch up to TR2. She had gone slightly serious again.

"Don't call me honey," she said. _'Only Stella can call me that.'_

"Ah, come on Shaz."

"Don't call me that either." She risked a look at him to tell him off, but only for a second.

"Listen, you are such a Shaz."

Michael and Stella were laughing so hard in TR2 that Stella thought they were going to wipe out themselves.

"Are you calling me a Bogan?"

"There's nothing wrong with Bogans." Christian looked out the window of the car. He knew he was going to cop it later back at the base but it was worth it.

Kerry told them off again.

Neither car could see anything in the driver's cabin of the freight train as it rattled down the line. TR2 was closer but the view wasn't any better. Christian made the suggestion of getting on the other side. Audrey shut down that idea when she said there was no road on the other side. Their boss then told them to check the reception on their phones. Every time she went to call the train driver, it kept dropping out.

None of them had reception.

The Samoan made a joke about Shannon's phone behind high-end, which wasn't that funny because they all had the same phones by special issue of Victorian Police as a part of their special order equipment.

"You know, I've worked with guys like you my whole career."

"Handsome Islanders?"

"Guys who think it's cute to get on a girls nerves."

Stella smiled at Shannon's comment and chose to make one of her own.

"Hey Shan, what about girls who think it's cute to get on a girls nerves?"

"I don't know. You're not being very annoying, Stel."

"That's because I'm not trying."

"Shannon, I'm going to send you out to the closest tower to see if there is anything wrong out there," ordered Kerry. The coincidence of all six TR mobile phones being out of coverage was too much to Kerry.

"See ya," said Michael, as Shannon slammed on the brakes and did a u-turn for the last road they passed.

Suddenly all of the fun disappeared and the atmosphere was getting serious. Stella's mood turned slightly sour. And on top of her decreasing mood, Josh had just found a bomb on board the train when passengers were coming too. The next ten minutes were tense as Shannon and Christian disappeared and Michael and Stella hoped that they wouldn't be cleaning up their leaders and best mates up from a pile of scrap metal if it went wrong.

Josh was becoming like a brother to Stella. She didn't want to lose him.

"Leon, are you seeing any of this?" asked Shannon as she and Christian pulled up to the phone tower. There was a small blocker attached to the pole.

"Yeah, yeah, it's a blocker. I can help you disable it," he said. Leon was the head intelligence officer of TR, if he didn't know how to disarm a small signal blocker like this one, what good was he?

"Do I need tools?"

"No, just pull it down," he said, watching her lapel camera footage as she followed his instructions. "And pull out the batteries."

Shannon's shoulders dropped at the simplicity of the whole thing. Christian's phone signal quickly increased and they rushed off back towards the train.

Everyone else was tense as they listened and watched as Josh attempted to disable to bomb sitting in the air vent. There was a bomb technician sitting in Leon's chair, instructing him on what to do. It had been hard enough to get Josh and Lawson onto the moving train. With only a short distance until they hit the stationary train ahead of them, it would have been impossible to get a technician onto the train, so the lapel camera footage was all the techie had to work with.

They all prayed, until Leon broke the silence gracelessly and was told off.

"Good job, Josh," said the bomb technician as he finally disabled the bomb, ensuring the safety of all those onboard if they could stop the train from colliding with another.

"I'm done, Lawson."

Stella and Michael were attempting to follow the train as best they could, but the road kept veering away at the worst of times. It didn't take long after that, seeing as they didn't have long, for Michael to spot Lawson walking along the outside edge of the engine up to the driver's cabin. Stella nearly slammed on the brakes hard when the train lurched back and forwards as the wheels attempted to grip the tracks to stop.

It was twenty minutes before three ambulances and four marked police cars were able to arrive to treat the passengers for shock and cordon off the area, and the constables of TR were helping to move the elderly people across the rocks of the train tracks.

"What are you thinking Lawson?" asked Kerry. There had been no demands or threats made on the train, any of its crew or passengers or anyone who held a strong government position.

"Why steal a train and put a bomb on it, just to jump off?"

"Did you check the freight?"

"Yeah, both carriages are intact," provided Josh. This caught Leon's attention as he quickly pulled up a manifest list.

"Three carriages?"

"Hey?" said Lawson, suddenly realising. A bomb had been put on the train, the robbers not expecting anyone to stop it or realise if one carriage was missing in the rubble and debris of two blown up freight trains.

"Two passenger carriages, three freight carriages," said Leon.

"Right, back down the line!" yelled Lawson, and the members of TR obediently followed him orders, running back to the cars and speeding off back the way they had come, and going past their starting point along the tracks. "Let's go!"

The TR cars were quickly loaded with their passengers and within seconds disappeared from the view of the ambulance officers, uniformed officers and the train passengers, leaving a behind a trail of dust clouds and flying stones. Shannon was driving TR1 and had no problem with taking the lead, speeding ahead of Stella and putting some distance between them like Stella had done earlier.

It didn't take long for them to find the last carriage nearly twenty kilometres back down the line, the side doors open as it sat there peacefully on the tracks. After they inspected the carriage and its contents, finding only one thing missing, the team was suddenly divided. Stella and Christian against the rest. Shannon and Stella's first fight.

"Would he really go to all that trouble?" asked Josh, walking away with Lawson. Kerry was yelling at their team leader over their comms, and the four junior officers were frozen out from kind of information.

Michael was beginning to get restless.

"What's with that? What? We don't get to even know what's going on?"

"Let's just give them a minute," suggested Stella, her eyes still on her boss.

"No, Michael's right," said Shannon.

"We can give the man some space," explained Christian, happy to wait for instructions like a good officer, almost like a soldier.

Shannon muttered something under her breath and Stella was nearly yelling.

"Hey!"

Shannon risked a glance at her girlfriend and Stella returned it with the same ferocity until Michael broke their stare.

"So, you're okay with this, are you Stel? Okay." Sarcasm didn't suit Michael at all.

Stella returned her view to the back of Shannon's head, Josh and Lawson in her peripheral vision. She was trying to figure out what was going through the Sergeants head. In briefing, Lawson had mentioned that Shannon's father was now an associate of Andrew Kronin's. If TR took down Kronin, they would most likely run in to Layton as well. Stella knew that Shannon would whatever she could possibly do to never see the man who had haunted her during her childhood ever again. Just his photo had the older woman becoming physically ill.

She thought she had no hope of Shannon turning around while Lawson and Josh bickering as his phone was ringing, but she was wrong. The moment her girlfriend turned around, Stella flicked her head behind her, motioning for TR2. The boys were too taken with Josh and Lawson to notice the girls walking away to lean against the front of TR2.

"What's going on? You seem angry," noted Stella, dropping her gaze from the scene in front of her, to the one beside her.

"I am angry. I want to know Lawson is planning because I can't be a part of the party that takes Kronin down if he is going to be there too. Kerry and I were supposed to figure out what I would do if TR was going to take down Kronin," said Shannon, her voice quiet with tears in her eyes. She felt sick to her stomach again. "Just seeing his photo makes me sick, Stel. What's going to happen if I have to point a gun at the guy who molested me over and over? Arrest him, physically cuff him? I don't know what I would do, and it scares me."

Stella reached for hand, offering comfort but quickly decided against it and moved her nimble fingers to the clasp on her faded gold necklace. She unclipped it and held it in her hands. Stella hadn't taken off that necklace in eight years.

"I often found my strength in my religion, which was emphasised by the cross my parents gave me when I turned eighteen. When I became a woman," she started, pausing before she continued. "I don't expect you to find strength in a religion you don't know and most likely don't follow, but how about you find your strength in me? I'll be right there with you when we see him."

Slowly Stella stood and clipped the necklace around Shannon's neck, pulling out her girlfriend's earpiece to put it on comfortably. The gold of the simple cross blended perfectly with the skin of Shannon's neck and she tucked it under her shirt and vest.

"Just remember that I love you," smiled Stella.

Leon's voice came over their comms about a bank robbery in progress close to their current location.

"If I could kiss you right now, I would."

"You can kiss me later."

"Thanks, Stel," said Shannon, her eyes no longer filled with tears and fear and anxiety, but with a new found strength, something to metaphorically fight for.

"Anytime," she answered, before rushing back to TR2 to the driver's seat.

During their quick trip, Lawson began to talk to Leon about a 'compound'. Shannon was getting more nervous with every kilometre she drove. She didn't think she could drive right into Kronin's property willingly if her father was there too. Until she felt Stella's cross bouncing under her vest, and felt a warmth spread through her, preparing her to take on anything.

The TR vehicles flew down the open country road, several minutes later, pulling over to the other side of the road with a perfect downhill view of the bank that was being robbed. The cars were beginning to get dirty with dust, TR2 more than TR1 as Stella parked the car behind Shannon. Josh, Lawson and Michael all had binoculars, taking in the situation from their distance.

And just like that the team was falling apart again as Lawson delved deeper into his obsession. There were four offenders exiting the bank and Michael was challenging their boss on whether or not to fly down to the bank and arrest them there and then.

Stella stood on the small platform, leaning against the driver's door.

Shannon turned her back on her boss and shared a knowing look with her girlfriend. Lawson was officially certifiable, and was unknowingly putting Shannon through hell.

Josh easily took his side and went back to watching them through his binoculars.

Christian took in the sight of his team arguing and leaning against the car, unsure of what to do.

Michael stepped up to argue even more. His obsession with revenge was pushing him past Lawson's.

Lawson got angry, and fought back.

'At least it wasn't a physical fight,' thought Shannon as she spotted the offenders leaving the bank in the cars and told Lawson.

Some more arguing between Lawson and Kerry, speaking about a folder, and they were off again. Soon, they were using the 4WD feature of the cars as they went bush, one kilometre from Kronin's compound. As Lawson divided them into Alpha and Bravo teams while they stood in the rain, Stella watched silently. She could tell that even though Shannon was hiding it, she was scared shitless. As their mini briefing broke up, Stella moved to the car to learn her file in the dryness of the car, and then her phone went off.

"Yes," she said, opening the file in her lap as she answered the phone.

"What's everyone looking like to you?" asked Kerry. Her voice was echoing slightly and Stella wasn't sure if it was from her location or Kerry's.

"A little unsure."

"How's Shannon?"

"I had to give her a little inspiration speech earlier just to get her in the car. Why the sudden interest in my girlfriend?"

"Just with her being sick this morning, I wanted to make sure she was okay." I wasn't entirely a lie.

"She tell you?" asked Stella, taking a risk. If Kerry didn't know, then she would most likely have to explain and that wasn't something she felt she could tell her boss.

"Yeah, she did. I was supposed to figure something out with her. She wasn't going to be included in this little party if Layton was going to be there. Leon just confirmed that Layton was there with Kronin at the bank. What was in your little speech?"

"Something about strength. I kind of winged it and gave her my cross necklace," explained Stella, flipping though several birds eye photos of her route. She looked up from her file to look out of the car, trying to minimise her distractedness while she was talking to Kerry about Shannon only to look right into Shannon's eyes.

Stella smiled and winked. Lawson rapped hard on the window and took her out of her trance.

"Enough with the gossip session," he said.

"It's Kerry," retorted Stella, pulling a face.

Lawson opened the door unexpectedly and pulled the phone from Stella's grip before she could do anything.

"Kerry, they're busy!" he exclaimed, ending the call and pointing at Stella with the phone. "Why are you talking to Kerry about me?"

"You are so self-centred. It wasn't about you."

The whole team looked on as Stella took her phone back and shut the door in his face with a snap, leaving him standing there glaring before he took out his own phone.

"She won't tell you," teased Stella though the half open window. She locked the door just in case he decided to open it again.

Lawson stomped away to talk to Josh, and Shannon smiled lightly at her girlfriend. Somehow she knew that Stella and Kerry were talking about her, and thought about confirming it.

"Talking about me?" she asked through the window.

Stella nodded smartly.

"Why?"

"Kerry is just concerned, seeing as you were sick this morning."

"Ah." Unconsciously, Shannon started playing with the necklace to comfort herself. Stella smiled at her.

"Hey! Learn your own stuff. I don't need you getting confused."

"He's in a bad mood," muttered Shannon.

"His obsession is in a bad mood. You better leave, before dad get really mad," giggled Stella, and Shannon left to take the rifle from Josh.

By nightfall, they were all in their night vision goggles, heading towards Kronin's compound. The girl's hearts were beating hard in their chests. It was still raining. Just outside the compound, beyond the reach of the cameras but able to use to lights to see, the members of TR waited patiently for Leon to switch the power off so they could make their approach. As they were dumped into the darkness, the clock started and they flew through the gate silently to their set positions; Josh appeared with a ladder as if it came out of thin air.

Stella, Michael and Lawson were waiting by the back wire door. Shannon and Christian by the door that went into the garage. Josh was in the roof.

Leon began counting the final seconds of their minute and the power flooded back on as the teams forced their way into the room. Josh landed first in the lounge aiming directly at Kronin. Shannon came in next followed closely by Christian. Michael ran in ahead of Stella and Lawson, the female Senior Constable following him in, Lawson dropping the door smasher loudly before running in.

Stella's gun was trained on Layton; Shannon could see his grey-white hair as he jumped over the couch and was pushed to the ground by Lawson. His hands flew up and Stella struggled to keep her finger off the trigger. It went silent and Kronin jumped out of the window, Josh and Lawson hurriedly chasing him outside the compound.

Shannon had hoped that he would recognise her. Christian floated around, flex-cuffing all of the offenders, sitting them against the bag of the couch. She and Stella stood there, weapons trained on their arrests as the two boys cleared the rest of the house.

"I know you," he said, looking at Stella.

"Good for you," she muttered angrily.

"You're the one who sleeps over at my daughter's house."

"Oh, really? And who's your daughter?"

"Shannon Layton."

Stella chuckled and breathed deeply, humouring him.

"I don't know a Shannon Layton."

"She is Shannon Layton. She's my daughter." He tried to move to motion Shannon, but Stella raised her gun.

"Sit down."

Stella looked at Shannon, and could see her jaw clench as her posture stiffened.

"That's not her name."

"She's my daughter! You're my daughter." said Layton, angrily. She didn't recognise her father after all the time he was gone.

"Only by blood. My dad adopted me when I was thirteen," said Shannon, smiling proudly at herself, despite her words being forced.

The other offenders watched on slightly shocked. Being criminals, they knew that cops couldn't work cases relating to family. It was a conflict of interest.

"NO!"

"You realise, Mr Layton that you just admitted to stalking" said Stella. She wanted their conversation to end so the others wouldn't hear.

Unfortunately, Lawson walked back in with a cuffed Kronin.

"He did what?"

"I'm her father," he said, as if it would get him out of trouble.

Lawson simply looked at his Sergeant, along with everyone else. "You shouldn't have been working this."

"He is only my father by blood. He was in and out of jail for most of my life, so I never knew him." Although she was showing a strong demeanour, it was beginning to crack. "You can write it up if you want. Kerry and I were going to figure something out so I wouldn't be a part of this, but it was a big late."

"Alright," he said. "No harm, no foul. You and Stella can go and get the cars. Leon, get the locals down here."

They nodded and left, the boys taking their positions guarding their arrests. Holstering their weapons, they pulled their night vision goggles back down to be able to see. It wasn't long before their hands were joined.

"Are you okay?" asked Stella, as she stepped over a broken branch. She was met with silence, so she stopped. It felt odd to be looking at her girlfriend through her night vision goggles. "Are you okay?"

Shannon took a deep breath. She didn't want to break down out here. If they took too long, someone would question it.

"I just want to go home. It's creepy knowing that he's been watching," she said softly. "I can't break down out here. I just want to go home."

She sounded so defeated that Stella's heart broke again. She moved for a hug, but was rejected.

"What?"

"If we hug, I'll start crying and then I won't be able to stop."

"Alright. Let's get the cars and get home as soon as we can."

It was past six am when they trudged into Shannon's house. Lawson had insisted on waiting for the uniforms to get to the compound and then proceeded to argue with the, because he wanted to hand Kronin over to Major Crimes. After that, it was a forty-five minute trip in silence, all the way back to base where it was pressed upon them about debriefing. Everybody got changed and ignored him, leaving him standing there in the locker room.

They didn't bother showering as the changed and got into bed. The last twelve hours had been tiring, physically and emotionally for both of them. The moment Stella's arms wrapped around Shannon, the dam broke and the older woman was overcome with emotion, tears wetting Stella's bare shoulder as she did her best to comfort her girlfriend.

They didn't get much sleep because Stella's phone rang several times, but when she answered there was nothing by silence on the other end. After four times, she turned it off and snuggled into Shannon.

"I love you," she said, pressing a kiss to Shannon's neck.

"I love you, too," came back through the semi darkness.

Shannon tightened her hold on Stella as she drifted off into a restless slumber.

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What do you think of this one? Be honest now, it's christmas day.

Have a good one folks, maybe another chapter before new years


	10. The Nightmares

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Oh hey look, a 7865 word update and 2 one shots in two days. I'm awesome. There is a little tribute to HappyHereford in here from her onesentence fic 'Moments'. See if you can spot it :) This weekend is kind of busy so I don't think I'll be able to update until the new year but I will definately try for some more oneshots. I think I'm suffering from a Rush or Shannon/Stella on our screens withdrawal.

**Typical; thsi chapter is 650 words longer than chapter 8**

**This chapter has an insight more directly into Shannon's past and mentions dark topics (I should have mentioned this last chapter) so if it offends you Im sorry.**

**Also at one point I say something about Josh throwing a shoe at Michael. Imagine this: Michael leaning against the wall across from the locker room looking up the hallway at Kerry. he is pissing her and everyone else off. then a TR boot just hits him in the head courtesy of Josh. I had myself in stitches when I though about it haha.**

**HappyHereford: I'm glad I can be of amazement to you. I hope this chapter is just as awesome as I break out my bottle of Vodka (tastes like shit FYI) and I am really loving these prompts and fics you are popping out.**

**medialuvo: I'm glad I could induldge you on for xmas**

**Vicky: While it is more Shannon/Stella for you guys, I'm running short of ideas despite having a plan to finish this fic. I can practicaly guarentee that it will be at least another 15 chapters before I'm anywhere near finishing. And maybe a sequel.**

**In A Rush: As my updates get longer, so do your reviews. Love it. Yes I think my beta is actually on holidays at the moments so I think there will be more than a few updates and oneshots on livejournal for her. If I felt the need too, he would have gotten the frying pan. Thanks for the confidence hopefully I can keep it up, especially when it comes to the seksy tiems. (Oh yeah it will happen.)**

**ENJOY and REVIEW. I need all the feedback I can get.**

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During Shannon's childhood, her parents had divorced in her first year of primary school and her mother had custody. Shannon was allowed to see her father every second weekend. It was rare for her to be at her father's house more than once every three months; he was always pulling local robbery jobs. When Shannon was eight, he molested her several times. Her mother noticed unusual bruises from her training as a nurse and nearly passed out from shock when her daughter explained.

He was arrested quickly, and was convicted of the sexual abuse charges as well as the robberies and was sentenced to 18 years jail with little chance of parole. That was twenty two years ago. As Shannon grew up, her mother sent her to counselling so she would have someone to talk to as she developed an understanding of what had happened.

To say that Shannon's girlfriend Stella was shocked with the confession was an understatement. During the entire explanation she stayed quiet, offering comfort whenever she could. To go along with the takedown and arrest of Andrew Kronin and her father, Shannon had needed a little support and Stella mumbled something about strength and let her wear her religious cross as a reminder that she wasn't alone.

It was exactly a week after the arrest and Shannon and Stella were sitting in the small kitchen of Shannon's flat eating breakfast forty-five minutes before they had to leave to get to work on time. They had a typical nine-to-five shift today, but when the members of TR were rostered on for those shifts, it was always more like an eight-to-six shift to allow time for getting dressed, briefing, debriefing and paperwork.

They were sitting next to each other at the kitchen counter, Shannon munching on her toast happily and Stella yawning into her coffee cup. They were playing footsies under the bench.

"How are you not half asleep?" asked Stella, yawning loudly again.

"I have this amazing girlfriend whose been sacrificing the usual amount of sleep she gets so I wouldn't have any nightmares," said Shannon. She stole a sip of coffee when Stella yawned again.

"Do I know this amazing girlfriend?"

"You should, I was kissing her last night."

"Oh, yeah, I remember now," Stella exclaimed sarcastically, hitting her own knee with her hand.

"A cold shower always works to wake me up, too," explained Shannon, taking another bite of her vegemite covered toast. She raised an eyebrow suggestively at her girlfriend. The idea of a cold shower had become a private joke between the two.

Ten months before, Shannon had taken a twelve month vow of celibacy, hoping to be able to step back with a clear head to find a relationship. Stella was counting the days left in the vow.

'_Two can play this game,'_ thought Stella, her hand dropping to Shannon's bare thigh and letting her fingertips ghost across the soft, creamy skin to the hem of the pair of short shorts the older woman was wearing. Needless to say, Shannon nearly choked on her next bite of toast. When Stella's fingertips broke the barrier and went to move further north, she pulled back smirking at her girlfriend as she watched the pink tinge rise into her cheeks. "I think you need another cold shower."

Stella moved to the sink to rinse her cup as she swallowed the final dregs.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to tease people?" asked Shannon, trying to get her heart rate to come down.

"Yeah, of course. It's in the unwritten mother's guide to parenting. But I'm pretty sure she didn't have _that_ kind of teasing in mind when she told me off for picking on Frank," explained Stella, her smirk only growing as Shannon rounded the bench to put her plate in the dishwasher.

"You're going to be the death of me," exaggerated Shannon, hands on her hips as she bumped the drawer closed.

When she didn't think her girlfriend's smirk could grow anymore, Shannon was confident that the corners of Stella's lips reached her ears. "Well, then at least you'll die a very happy woman." Stella sauntered out of the kitchen giggling to head up stairs to get changed, hearing her phone ring from the bedroom as she went.

Shannon let out a deep sigh and let a smile grace her tired features, following Stella upstairs listening to the quiet house as Stella answered her phone.

"Hello?" she said into the phone, lifting her bag onto the bed. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

She hung up when she didn't get an answer and let it drop onto the messy bed next to her bag. Stella yawned again just as Shannon walked in and headed to the drawers.

"Who was it?" asked Shannon, noticing her girlfriend's frustration.

"No idea. This is like, the hundred call I've gotten from unregistered number since those damn flowers were left in my apartment. It's starting to give me the shits," answered Stella, pulling her singlet over her head, leaving her standing in her bra. Her smirk returned as she caught Shannon staring. "Can I borrow a top?"

Shannon threw the first top she put her hand on, muttering something along the lines of 'death of me.' Stella laughed and continued to change. After a few moments of silence, she looked to Shannon, watching as the older woman tucked a necklace under her top. She moved forward to pull it out, remembering the afternoon when she gave it to the older woman.

"Do you want it back?" asked Shannon. Her hands stopped on Stella's hips and joined behind her back, holding her perfectly against Shannon.

It was a moment before the Senior Constable answered. "Nah. You can hang on to it for me." She pressed a soft kiss to Shannon's lips and pulled away to pull her jeans on.

Half an hour later, Stella was content to settle into the passenger's seat. Usually when one stayed over at the others and they had work the next day, Stella would steal the keys and drive them in. the young woman was actually surprised no one besides Kerry had commented on it. Then again they were usually in early before everyone else. It was several loud yawns that broke the silence before Shannon spoke.

"Maybe you should sleep at yours tonight," suggested Shannon. She didn't want it to come off as pushing her girlfriend away but Stella needed sleep desperately. And she wasn't going to get it at Shannon's.

Since the arrest the week before, Shannon had begun having nightmares, reliving her childhood traumas in her dreams. Being protective, Stella had taken it upon herself to stay awake most of the night to wake Shannon up if she started to toss and turn in the bed.

"Are you kicking me out?" asked Stella with mock seriousness, looking at Shannon with a confused look.

"No," said Shannon, returning to stare to Stella.

"Tell the truth."

"Okay, fine. Yes, I am," laughed Shannon, taking a corner smoothly and coming to a stop at a red light. "Stel, you need sleep. I don't want you getting hurt at work because your reflexes are jarred because you've have all of seven hours sleep in the last week."

"Shannon, I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I know you do. And I love you for it. But you need to take care of yourself as well," explained Shannon arriving at the staff parking lot in front of the TR buildings. "Just for tonight. We have tomorrow off. We can do whatever tomorrow."

"Alright," yawned Stella. "But I'm probably going to get even less sleep because I'll be too busy worrying about you."

"Awwww," cooed the older woman, meeting Stella halfway for a kiss over the console.

Their briefing was more boring than usual, and relatively uneventful. Lawson had stopped talking about Kronin now that they had caught him, but yelled about the whereabouts of Josh. It was unlike him to be this late, if he was late at all.

Their operation today was to aid the Drug Squad make a bust with the help of Blake Fincher, more commonly nicknamed Nigella for his ability to produce top quality methamphetamines. He had approached them to make a deal to reduce his sentencing for his drug habit. Michael had been tasked as the taxi driver and had proceeded to put on a fake thick Boston accent that annoyed everyone to the point where Kerry hit him with her newspaper.

If Josh had been there, it would have been something more solid that a newspaper. Like a shoe.

Surprisingly, in the absence of Josh, Kerry had tasked Shannon and Stella in TR2 until he caught up with the team. He still wasn't answering his phone.

"Hey, can you two try Josh? He's still not answering me," asked Kerry as she walked into her offices.

"Yeah, sure," said Shannon innocently. As soon as the Inspector was gone, her right hand was above her head, holding the keys to TR2 out of Stella's reach.

"Shannon, give me the keys."

"You're tired. Just let me drive," argued the older woman, holding them even higher. Christian walked down the hallway on his way to the cars and plucked the keys from Shannon's grip, tossing them to Stella as he laughed cheekily at them. "You've been looking after me all week, let me repay the favour even it's only something small."

"You're going to use that against me aren't you?"

Stella rolled her eyes in an attempt to resist. Shannon had begun pouting and pulled out the puppy dog eyes, holding her hand out for the keys. "Not the puppy dog eyes." The younger woman sighed and handed them over. It wasn't until they were out in the garage that Lawson turned the tables. He had been separating them a lot after Kerry had tasked them to a car.

"Change of plans. Stel, you're with me. Shan, you get the boys," he explained as he tossed the keys to TR1 across the garage to Stella.

"All that wasted effort," laughed Stella, jumping into the car and driving off.

While Michael had been driving the taxi with Blake in it, five guys on motorbikes had taken their bait from him and left him with a few twenty dollar bills and a jacket covered in half a can of a 'V' energy drink.

"Alright, Stel, we're moving."

Stella had been sitting in the car filling out the logs for the car, a half empty coffee sitting in the cup holder next to her. When she told Lawson she was filling out the logs, she had really been playing Tetris on her phone. They were currently at the marina in St Kilda, waiting for Blake to arrive. Apparently, the location had been moved out to Seddon, and the Drug Squad and TR headed out there thanks to information from Audrey.

TR2 with Shannon, Christian and Michael were in the parking lot on the east side of the building. Stella was alone in the car on the west side. Bored out of her mind, she played some more Tetris; a text message interrupting her perfect score. The next twenty minutes were spent messaging Shannon until Lawson told her to pick her girlfriend up and head over to Josh's.

"Copy that," she confirmed at sped off back down the street to get to Shannon. She arrived a moment later to see the boys running off to put cameras in the building and Shannon leaning against the boot of TR2.

Stella put down the window and let out a loud wolf whistle. "Hey, gorgeous. Fancy a lift?"

Shannon laughed at the stupidity of the comment and pretended to take offence, getting into the passenger seat. "Do I look like a hooker to you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" said Stella. She received a sharp punch to the shoulder and quickly apologised to her girlfriend. "I'm sorry. You left it wide open. I'm sorry."

"You better be," muttered Shannon.

"I love you?" asked Stella.

"I love you, too."

Their little comical quarrel was a nice little distraction from their day job, providing some entertainment as they made the trip out to Richmond to have a look at Josh's place.

She knew the lapel cams couldn't see the current location of her hand and was grateful for their slight upwards positioning. Her right hand was sitting casually on Stella's thigh and Shannon let herself sink into her seat slightly to keep her hand on Stella's thigh comfortably.

"If you're thinking of getting revenge for this morning, do not even think about it," she warned.

"I can't even think about it?" asked Shannon. The puppy dog eyes and the pout were on standby if she needed to use them. It hadn't taken long for her to figure out that Stella was a sucker for the puppy dog eyes.

"Alright, you can think about it, but do not put your plan into action while I'm driving. Unless you are ready, willing and able to follow through."

Shannon sighed loudly and sympathetically, her hand slowly drifting up Stella's pant leg. "Looks like you still have to wait another two months."

Stella stared at Shannon as they took a corner into the alley Josh lived off. Stella had helped Josh move into to his apartment after his sexual relationship with Shannon had ended. Apparently he didn't like his old apartment any more. After helping him load all of his belongings into a trailer and the back of his Jeep, Stella discovered that he had very little knowledge when it came to interior decorating. Nothing matched and he had thrown his old bed out in exchanged for a double bed without the frame, just the mattresses to sleep on.

As Stella parked the car, Shannon hopped out to inspect the door. She waited on the top step for Stella before continuing. The door was open slightly and she commented about the initiative of general duty police officers. "Did those GD's even check this out?"

Stella sheepishly smiled and remembered several times when she and partner at the time Lynette had been slack in effectively checking property. She shrugged to Shannon. "Probably not."

Pushing the wooden door open to enter, Shannon took the lead and cautiously proceeded into the nicely sized loft. Every few steps, she turned around to make sure Stella was still there. It didn't take long for them to find a bloody kitchen knife on the floor with matching droplets all the way to the sliding door. Stella let her fingers brush the back of Shannon's neck as she walked past to follow the blood out into the small courtyard where Josh kept his bins.

Shannon wasted no time in letting Leon in on the seriousness of the situation. They quickly cleared the rest of the loft and shared another look as their Intelligence Officer explained to them that Josh had called him only moments before.

"Ah, Shannon, I've just had a call from Josh. He's around the corner from you in a laneway off Shelley Street. He's requesting some back up."

"What else did he say?"

"That was it. He hung up."

Despite the awkwardness after their relationship had ended, Shannon had still cared for Josh, just not like that. They had found that they were better off as friends even though the sex was unbelievable. Stella had always seen Josh as a brother. Back when Grace was still alive, it was a relationship more like the one she shared with Frank; full of sibling rivalry. After Shannon arrived, it slowly turned to mimic the one she shared with Oskar. He was family to both of them and they didn't specifically want to lose him.

Less than a minute later they found him, bloody and bruised, bent over to catch his breath as he dropped the steel pole with a loud clatter.

"What the hell happened?" asked Shannon, running up the lane.

"Bastard tried to kill me."

"Yeah, looks like he nearly did," commented Stella.

Both women had an arm around him, but the moment Stella touched his left arm he groaned in protest and pushed her away.

"Leon, I need an ambulance in the laneway off Shelley Street, Richmond."

"Who was he?" asked Shannon, helping into the back seat as Stella went for a quick look around.

"No idea."

The ambulance had finally arrived and Stella hadn't been able to find a trace of the guy responsible for putting Josh in the hospital. Shannon was standing with him as she ambulance officer checked him over, giving him an oxygen mask.

"How's he doing, Stel?" asked Lawson over their comms.

Lawson had been pissing her off most of the morning as she listened to him and Michael badger Leon about his work.

"He's okay. It's Josh. Who can tell?" she smiled.

"I want to speak to him," said the boss.

"Lawson, I'll let him know. He's okay, alright? He's alive," she said, ending the conversation and shutting the boot of TR1. She reversed the car out of the lane and waited for Shannon.

"Go back to work," requested Josh.

Shannon huffed and got back into the car anyway, muttering something about Josh being such a boy.

By the time they got back to the warehouse, there had been an explosion because Blake had turned off the vents during the cooking process. Kerry had been unable to talk him down in time. Michael and Christian were now standing in front of the warehouse roller doors being hosed down by the fire fighters. Shannon and Stella were laughing at their misfortune of being drenched to the bone.

"Michael, you look like a drowned rat!" said Stella, smiling cheekily at him. He nodded in false amusement and she heard Shannon laugh out loud. Stella couldn't help but fall more in love with Shannon every time she laughed.

An hour later, they were filling out their paperwork before they headed home. Stella's adrenaline rush from losing Josh had worn off when they boys were getting hosed down and she was beginning to get tired, crashing, struggling to keep her eyes open. Until Shannon dragged her out to the parking lot and took her home.

"Let's get you inside," said Shannon, tucking the small tired woman under her arm and leading her up to the third floor. Stella cuddled in to Shannon, wrapping an arm around her back. To the older woman, her girlfriend was beginning to get that peaceful look she had whenever she was asleep. Stella looked so innocent and content enveloped in Shannon's arms.

It was a slow journey up the stairs to Stella's apartment, but they finally got in through the door after Shannon took the keys from Stella who was fumbling and yawning, barely able to stand straight.

"Into bed," said Shannon, pulling back the covers and sitting Stella down. She knelt down and pulled off the shoes before removing Stella's jacket and rolling the girl under the bed covers. Shannon watched Stella close her eyes, sinking into the pillows, before placing a kiss to her girlfriend's temple and standing to leave. Stella's hand caught her wrist.

"Stay. Just for a little while?" asked the sleepy woman. Her eyes were barely open.

Stella didn't need puppy dog eyes to get Shannon to do things.

"How about I stay until you fall asleep?" she suggested. Stella simply nodded into the pillows.

Shannon flicked her shoes off and crawled over the brunette to the other side of the bed, hovering over her for a moment as she stared, before plonking herself up against the wall. The younger woman immediately turned over and curled into her girlfriend, using her lap as a pillow, and she hummed contentedly as fingers ran through her hair.

It was mere minutes until Stella's breathing had evened out, telling Shannon that she was asleep. She decided to wait a little longer just to guarantee that she was actually asleep before offering one last kiss, whispering 'I love you' and slipping out of the apartment, pulling her flip flops on in the hallway so she didn't wake Stella up.

Outside was dark, and the hallways were dimly lit. Shannon didn't notice the figure waiting just up the stairs. He stood out against the white brickwork in his dark clothes, but due to the dim lighting the halls were often shady in the corners. Shannon walked down the stairs towards the exit searching through her bag for her keys. She disappeared from view and he could hear the security door slam shut.

Now she was alone. _Now she was his._ She would pay for not taking notice of him, even after he left her those flowers.

It was after lunch the following day and Stella still hadn't called. Shannon was throwing ideas off of her cat Sam, who was currently perched on the kitchen bench, under which she and her girlfriend had been playing footsies just the morning before.

"Maybe she's still asleep? I hope she got some sleep."

The cat just stared at her.

"She can definitely sleep, but not for going on eighteen hours. Maybe she just forgot to call?"

The cat stared back again.

"Yeah, she's never forgotten to call," said Shannon, scratching the side of the animals head. "What do you think, Sam?"

He sat there for a second and then turned his head. Shannon stayed quiet. Then a whiny meow came from the cat, and he jumped down and disappeared into the laundry.

"Thanks for nothing," she muttered, following him into the laundry to check on the clothes in the dryer.

As she began folding them, Shannon heard her phone ring from the lounge room. She nearly tripped over Sam in her hurry to get to the phone before the answering machine cut in.

"Hello?"

"Shannon, it's Kerry."

Shannon's mood instantaneously deflated. She had been hoping that it was Stella on the other end.

"Hey Kerry, what's up?"

"Have you heard from Stella at all this morning? Has she called you at all?" asked the Inspector, choosing to ignore the obvious change in Shannon's tone. It wasn't Kerry that Shannon wanted to talk to.

"No. I dropped her at home last night, she needed some sleep. I told her to call me, but she pretty much asleep when I said it. What's going on?"

"How fast can you make it to Fitzroy Hospital?"

Fitzroy. Stella lived in Fitzroy. Kerry was calling instead of Stella. From the hospital. Shannon was getting worried. "Kerry, what's going on?"

"It looks like Stella's been attacked."

"What? When? By who?" asked Shannon, running up the stairs to find a decent pair of pants and some shoes. She didn't want to arrive at the hospital in a pair of short shorts that she was pretty sure belonged to Stella. She had more modesty than that.

"I'll tell you when you get here. We're on the second floor; ask at the nurse's station which room. It's easier than me trying to give directions."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," said Shannon, the phone jammed between her ear and her shoulder and she buttoned her jeans up and slipped her flip flops on. Shannon quickly grabbed her bag from the hallway table, snatched up her keys and ran out to her car.

This was a typical scene for her neighbours when she was on call. Except this time she wasn't running out of the house to get to work on time. Fitzroy Hospital was on the other side of Stella's place which was a fifteen minute drive. There was no way she was going to make it in ten minutes, like she had told Kerry.

Shannon arrived at the visitor's entrance twelve minutes later, paying for a ticket to park and practically running in, and up the two flights of stairs, easily spotting the nurse's station when she came out of the stairwell.

"Excuse me, can you tell me Stella Dagostino is?"

"I'm sorry. It's family only for now," said the nurse, offering a sympathetic smile and sitting down to finish some paperwork.

"She's my girlfriend." The nurse raised an eyebrow. "My boss is down there right now, so how's that for family? Can you please just tell me where she is?"

"Down the hall and to the left, you should see your boss down the hall. Look for bed seventeen," explained the nurse, relenting at the use of Shannon's puppy dog eyes. Apparently they worked on more than just Stella.

"Thank you so much."

And Shannon took off down the hall, walking past the security guard calmly. If she ran in front of him, he would most likely kick her out of the hospital all together. It wasn't hard to spot Kerry; she was sitting outside Stella's room with a magazine.

"Kerry, what's going on?" The window in the wall allowed for Shannon to see Stella talking to a detective from Major Crimes and a constable from the local station. "What's Napthorn doing here?"

"Calm down," said Kerry, simply putting down her magazine as she stood up. "Apparently, not long after you left, she was attacked. She thinks it was this guy that's been stalking her. Somehow, and I have no idea how, she hit him with something hard enough to make him leave, before she fainted. A neighbour found the door open this morning and called an ambulance."

Shannon felt her stomach drop and guilt flooded over her. "I shouldn't have made her go home last night. What's wrong with her?"

"She's alright, other than some bruising to her head and a concussion, she's fine. A little shaken but fine."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm on her emergency contacts list. Same with everyone else on the team," explained the Inspector, before Shannon could get angry that she wasn't on Stella's list. "What did you mean 'you shouldn't have made her go home last night'?"

"I've been having nightmares since we arrested my father. Stel was up nearly all night, every night for the past week to make sure I got some sleep. I dropped her off at hers so she could actually rest, get some sleep."

Napthorn came out with the constable following and addressed Kerry, ignoring Shannon.

"Looks like she doesn't remember much. It's probably the concussion causing that. The Senior Constable also says she has been getting these phone calls, with no one on the other end, but other than that she hasn't noticed anything. I can assure you Kerry, we're going to do everything to catch this guy, but we can only do so much when she's refusing protection."

"I'll talk to her, you do everything else in the mean time," she warned, and they both left the TR members standing in the hallway. "Go on, have a few minutes and then I'm coming in to talk to her."

"Thanks, Kerry," said Shannon, immediately walking around her boss and through the doorway. Bed seventeen was a part of a four bed room, and Stella had to share with three other patients, three elderly people. She paused at the end of Stella's bed. "Hi."

"Hey," said Stella weakly. She attempted a reassuring smile but struggled and gave up.

"How do you feel?"

"Like shit. My head has not stopped thumping for the past two hours and I can't have any pain meds because of my concussion and this guy across from me is starting to give me the shits," she angrily admitted, before sighing deeply. Shannon looked on sympathetically. "I would feel better if you came closer."

"Let me look," said the older woman, and Stella turned her head.

Stella held out her hand for her girlfriend. Shannon took it hesitantly as she took in the damage that had been inflicted on Stella. A cut covered most of her left temple; it wasn't deep but the stitches made it look bad. And there was little bruising surrounding the cut, most of it marring her skin just below and around her left eye. Shannon felt immediately guilty.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" asked Stella, leaning her head back on the pillow.

"You wouldn't have been attacked if I hadn't have made you go home last night."

"Shan, I don't blame you. At all. So please, don't feel guilty about it," said the younger woman. "I blame the guy who's obsessed with me. I'm glad you weren't there, or he would've hurt you too. Okay?" Shannon nodded. "Good. Now give me a kiss."

Shannon smiled lightly at the attempted humour, but kissed her anyway. Kerry chose that moment to walk in and clear her throat, the doctor not far behind.

"Nice timing, Kerry," muttered Stella. Shannon chuckled, but turned serious when her boss looked at her sternly.

"Okay, Stella, very funny."

"I try."

"Hi, Stella. I'm Doctor Monroe. I'm just going to give you quick look over to confirm the nurse's notes and we'll go from there. Sound okay?"

"Sure." Stella muttered again. She just wanted to go home with Shannon and go to sleep.

Doctor Monroe looked like a bit of a hard-arse; following the rules as straight as he could. He looked to be in his early thirties and was already going bald. He was shorter than Kerry and thinner than Stella. His stubbly face made him look like he hadn't shaved in days and he had tired eyes. Quickly, Monroe checked Stella's pupils and the cut across her temple.

"Well, it looks like you've only got a mild concussion which is good news. It's the cut across your temple that worries me. I want to keep you in overnight just to make sure that you won't haemorrhage."

Stella groaned in protest, but Shannon and Kerry silenced her.

"I'll send you for some CT and MRI scans later today and then again in the morning and depending on those results you should be able to go home late tomorrow morning. Do you have any questions?"

"Are you sure I can't go home today?" she looked hopeful.

"Yep. I'll be around if you need anything, just let the nurses know," he finished, scribbling things down on her chart and left the room.

"Alright, give me your phone and I'll be gone," said Kerry, turning back to Stella.

"What do you want my phone for?"

"I'm going to get Leon to clone it and see if we can trace the guy who's calling you next time."

"I think it's at home. I didn't have time to grab it while I was unconsc-" Stella stopped in mid sentence and turned to Shannon. "Do you have copies of those photos I have my phone?"

"The ones from the park and the beach?"

"And your bedroom."

Kerry's eyes bulged slightly. Sure, she knew about the relationship, but Kerry was under the impression that they hadn't gone as far as sex yet, not that she needed to hear about it as well, because she didn't. Stella saw her boss's eyes widen, remembering that one: as their boss, she didn't need to hear the conversation, and two: she informed Kerry about Shannon's celibacy vow.

"Don't worry Kerry. We're fully clothed in the ones in the bedroom," she giggled.

"Yeah, you sent them to me. They're on my laptop."

"If you're going to give my phone to Leon to clone, can you at least delete those photos for me?" Stella asked Kerry. "We wouldn't want Leon getting any ideas."

"It's Leon. He's always got ideas," said Shannon, grimacing at the idea of Leon having photos of the two of them as a couple. They would never hear the end of it.

There were several photos of them kissing and snuggling on the sandy beach and Shannon's bedroom. The photo currently occupying the background of Shannon's phone was one she had taken of Stella when she had been staying at her girlfriend's apartment. Stella was wrapped up in the blankets after a night shift, snoring softly. Shannon hadn't been able to help herself and snapped a picture with her phone.

"Sure," said Kerry, crossing her arms. She looked like Lawson when she crossed her arms and leaned back. "Now, about refusing protection from the local GD's?"

"They're GD's, Kerry. They're not cut out for protective detail," argued Stella. She felt like a kid that had been sent to the principal's office. "I'm cop, I think I can handle it."

"Yeah, Stel. You're a cop that got her head bashed in last night," said Shannon. She had a guilty look on her face as she said it.

"You two aren't going to let up on this are you?"

"Nope," they both said simultaneously.

"Stella, you need to understand that I've had two separate attacks on two of my officers within twelve hours of each other. Both you and Josh are getting protective details from the Preston and Richmond stations, and the rest of the team is going to be notified and told to remain vigilant. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, mother," joked Stella.

"Alright, when Josh gets out of Epworth, he's going to stay with Lawson for a couple days. Shannon, you can go to Stella's and get some stuff for her; she's staying with you for a few days as well. Just be careful, we don't know if he's still hanging around," suggested Kerry.

"I could just remove the risk entirely and go back to mine and get some stuff. Half the stuff she rocks up to work in is mine," explained Shannon, smirking at Stella.

"It's nice to know that the two of you have learnt to share, I need Stella's phone."

"Fine, but give me a minute," requested Shannon. She turned back to Stella after Kerry walked out. "So what happened?"

"You tucked me in, I heard you leave. I can't remember what my clock said when I woke up but the whole place was dark, there was someone standing at the end of my bed. He tall, that's all I can remember about him. That and he never said anything at all. He just stood there for a few minutes and when it clicked that he wouldn't do anything until I did. I went to turn on my lamp and he just went nuts.

Stella's eyebrows were furrowed with concentration as she tried to remember the exact events from the night before. It was proving to be a slightly difficult task.

"He sort of pushed me around a bit, and then when I fell I think I hit him with something, but I can't remember what it was. It might have been Oskar's cricket bat for his birthday. It was under my bed. Next thing I know, Karen from upstairs is trying to wake me up and then I'm in the hospital."

"He didn't...he didn't rape you, did he?" asked Shannon. She had been eight years old when it happened to her but talking with her counsellor helped her to understand it. It was something she never wanted to happen to Stella.

"No. They cleared me this morning when they checked me over."

Kerry ducked her head inside the doorway and called for Shannon, who stood up to leave.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Stella nodded. "I'm just going to get some sleep, if I'm allowed to."

"Alright. I'll be back soon. I love you," said Shannon, kissing Stella's unmarred temple and winking on her way out.

"Love you, too."

The man in his sixties in the bed directly across from Stella gave her 'tsk, tsk,' and shook his head.

"What are you lookin' at?" asked Stella in a pissed off tone, just as the nurse came in.

"That's Edmund. He's very conservative," she explained as she fussed over Stella.

"Ah, that explains it then. Am I allowed to get some sleep now?"

The nurse flicked through the chart hanging at the end of the bed.

"You can sleep in thirty to forty-five minute blocks, and then you have to stay awake for the remaining time of the hour. Go to sleep and I'll wake you up soon with a late lunch."

"Thanks," muttered Stella, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep finally, as her nurse began to check on Edmund.

She woke forty minutes later, to Shannon reading a magazine with one hand and holding her own with the other, and a bowl of still hot soup sitting on her table.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," commented Shannon, dropping her magazine to her lap.

"It's not really morning, is it?" she asked, pushing herself up slowly, blinking as she took in the brightness of the room. Edmund's bed was empty.

"No," chuckled Shannon. "You've been asleep for just over half an hour. How's the headache?"

"A bit better," grumbled Stella.

"You haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. So that's nearly twenty-four hours of no food. Eat," demanded Shannon and she moved the bowl of soup in front of her girlfriend.

"What is it with people ordering me to do things today?" asked Stella, lifting a spoonful of soup to her mouth.

"It comes naturally, but Kerry and I have very different reasons to order you around," said Shannon, trying to keep a straight face.

"I'm not even going to touch that one," answered Stella, and Shannon broke out into a grin.

"I got you some magazines, for when you have be awake."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence, hands joined, one woman eating and the other reading a gossip magazine. Until Edmund shuffled loudly back to his bed with a walking frame and a nurse and the silence was effectively broken.

Ten days after her attack, Stella had settled back in at work on active duty. Josh was still on desk duty and Kerry had him doing inventory to make sure he didn't go and look for leads on who try to kill him. That didn't stop him. There were unmarked cars and cameras watching the houses and apartments, waiting for the attackers to come back, have another shot at trying to kill Stella and Josh.

Most of the cut along Stella's forehead had healed, the stitches having come out only days before. The bruising was still heavy and it made her look even more broken. Michael had wasted no time in pulling Stella to him worriedly when she arrived at work to check her over. For a moment, both Shannon and Audrey thought he would kiss Stella, until Kerry hit him with her newspaper.

Kerry had her suspicions that each attack was connected together but Josh and Stella had other ideas.

"They were completely different MO's," said Josh, leaning forward in his seat.

"And two different people. Josh's guy was shorter than him and my guy was taller than him."

They kept pointing out differences between their attacks until Kerry relented.

"Alright, alright. Get lost. Shannon! I need a word!" she yelled as Shannon walked past the office, and Stella and Josh walked out like the cool kids had just gotten out of punishments from their mothers. They both looked gave her a suss look, back to each other and ran off to the locker rooms laughing.

"Whatever it was, I didn't do it," said Shannon slowly, looking confused. She hadn't done anything wrong and she was pretty sure her relationship hadn't gotten in the way of work. "At least, I think I didn't do it."

"Well, then I guess you don't want this promotion if you didn't do anything."

"Promotion? Really? I had no idea I was up for one," she explained, clearly confused. "But I'm not turning it down."

"Guess we better let the others know then. Have something to celebrate after your shift." Kerry smiled and patted her on the back. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Kerry."

Her boss handed her the epaulettes for a Senior Sergeant and pretty much pushed her out of the office, and she smiled at herself as she walked to the locker room. She had barely turned the corner when a loud bang went off and Shannon looked up to see the entire team including Leon and Audrey with confetti and party poppers. There was a large sign with 'CONGRATULATIONS' sprawled across it in colourful writing. Shannon just laughed once her heart rate returned to normal.

"You all knew about this, didn't you?"

Shannon received seven yells of confirmation. She looked at Stella who sheepishly shrugged. They all went back to their own business, getting changed or packing up.

"Who's up for the pub? First round is my shout," tempted Shannon as they all left the base. Again she received seven yells of confirmation.

In the car, Stella quickly put her own method of congratulating her girlfriend into practice after everyone else had already left.

"I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, babe. When did you find out?" she asked as she turned the ignition and headed for O'Malleys.

"When you were at my place for dislocating your shoulder."

"You've known for over a month?"

"Yeah. Kerry might have mentioned it in passing. You remember when I brought home that wine one day?"

Shannon nodded, concentrating on the peak hour traffic.

"That's when she told me."

"Who knew you could keep a secret that big from me for that long," teased the older woman.

"Kerry threatened to suspend me if I slipped up."

Shannon burst out laughing as the car stopped outside the pub, the boys waiting out the front for Shannon to buy the first round of the night. They sat there for a moment, aware the boys were watching.

"What would you do if I kissed you right now?" asked Stella.

"I'd yell at you for it, and then hold out my hand for the twenty bucks you would owe me because everyone found out before Christmas."

"I'd like to keep my twenty bucks."

That earned her a sharp slap to the shoulder and she giggled as she hopped out, linking arms with Shannon as they crossed the road. Even in the poor street light, Stella could see Josh eyeing the way the two women were joined. Stella could remember not so subtle hints Josh had been giving for the past four months.

"_I've seen the way you look at her, Stel. The same way I used to look at Grace."_

"_I know why her opinion means so much to you."_

"_Are you sleeping with her?"_

"_She might not dig chicks, but I can tell she digs you."_

Stella then made a mental note to ask him as carefully as she could what he was thinking, try to find out if he knew anything. If he did, she would deny it just like she and Shannon had planned. She made another mental note, that probably wouldn't last long due to the amounts of alcohol she was planning to consume, to mention Josh's possible knowledge of their relationship.

"This is going to send me broke," muttered Shannon as she pulled out her purse to order the first round of drinks. Stella heard her and handed over forty dollars to help shout the round. "Can I get nine pots and ah four jugs of whatever is on tap?"

"Oi!" yelled Stella, carrying five glasses as best she could. Kerry and Josh followed with the jugs and Shannon with the final glasses. "A toast to _Senior_ Sergeant Shannon Henry!"

"Cheers!" came across the four tables the group had taken over and they all striked up conversations or began drinking games.

Stella was into her third beer and had just have her first shot of tequila only to be pulled from her fun.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Senior Constable Stella Dagostino."

Stella turned at the sound of her name and her drunken smile dropped almost instantly. Standing across the bar was Detective Sam Stone, a leering grin on his face as he took in the sight of Stella. As he got closer, everyone could see bruising receding into his hair.

"Ah, shit. Look, I'm good mood. You just being in this pub, is ruining it. Go away!" she said, turning back to Josh and Shannon.

"Who's that, Stel?" asked Josh, sizing the guy up in case he decided he had been inappropriate to Stella.

"You remember that detective I told you about? The one that was always hitting on me when I was out at Preston?" Josh nodded. "That's him."

Stone came up and casually draped his arm over her shoulders. "Ah, your girlfriend's here too."

That caught every one's attention; Michael nearly fainted, Josh raised his eyebrows, Kerry and Lawson huffed and sighed, Leon's head was suddenly higher than the others.

"That's hot!" whispered Leon, watching with intent.

"Get your off of me," she warned.

"I'm telling you Stella, you're wasting your time with that one. I can give you everything you've ever wanted."

Stella was sure he was drunk, but she couldn't smell any alcohol on his breath. Josh was getting angry; Stella had told Stone to go away twice and he had taken it as permission to get closer.

"No, you can't," she said simply, pushing him away. "I don't a little boy. I want a real _woman_."

The entire bar suddenly went quiet and booed at him as he was insulted. The TR group laughed and went back to their drinks as Stone left with his tail between his legs. The volume in the bar went back to its original level before Stone had walked in, and Stella turned to finish her drink only to find everyone staring at her.

"We're not actually dating. It was just a ploy to get him off of my back. Months later and he still won't leave me alone."

"Fair enough," said Lawson, moving everyone but Leon on. His mind was flooding with images.

* * *

Well? Have a safe new years guys!


	11. The First Day

**Okay, not much to talk about today, sorry for the delay. I'll reply to your comments personally after work. Sorry. I'm running a little low on time. Enjoy. Not my best, I rushed the last 3000 words to get it up before I left for work. Unbeta'd so ignore any mistakes :)**

**PS there is a poll on my profile page that may impact this story, would be great if whoever reads this could answer it. Thanks.**

* * *

After recovering from their hangovers, Shannon and Stella spent the morning cuddled up in bed, hands venturing ever so slightly, kisses moving across skin that was nowhere near their lips. Shannon was currently half sitting up against the pillows of her bed, her singlet top pushed up just below her breasts, exposing her flat stomach. Stella had shuffled down with a grin on her face, letting her nose brush along the smooth skin, while peppering kisses ever so often. The older woman's hands were brushing through Stella's hair. Stella had made it her mission to make Shannon laugh. Her laugh was fast becoming Stella's favourite sound on Earth.

"Stel, you're tickling me," giggled the Senior Sergeant.

Stella lifted her head in the middle of pressing another kiss to her navel. "I am doing no such thing!"

"Your hair is." She giggled again, arching slightly into Stella's touch.

"You seem kind of," started Stella, pulling herself up to lay fully on top of Shannon and attach her lips to Shannon's neck. "Tense."

"Can you blame me? I am currently laying underneath a gorgeous woman, who happens to be teasing me when I still have six weeks left on my celibacy vow," she deadpanned, having paused in the middle of her sentence when Stella hit _that_ spot in the crook of her neck. "It's been a while Stel."

"Are you sure you're going to be able to make it another six weeks?"

"If I don't, you are so not getting any."

Shannon rolled them over and fused Stella's lips to her own as they began a rather heavy make-out session. After the drama of the past four weeks, they were helping each other to heal from the emotional and physical strains of their lives. Stella was doing her best to have her girlfriend smile at the tiniest things. Since the knowledge that Kronin's new associate was Shannon's father, she had been treated differently by Michael and Lawson. Their boss was pissed that she hadn't told him and continued to remind her whenever she made the littlest mistake. Michael was more pissed at the fact that a team mate's father was involved with the guy who had beaten him up.

The two members of TR spent their weekend mainly wrapped up in each other, ignoring the outside world and the people in it until Kerry called early Sunday night. Shannon and Stella were dancing in the kitchen to the stereo system, while they attempted to cook dinner. When the phone rang, Shannon was in mid twirl. Despite the current situation of Stella being stalked, they had a fairly easy time forgetting about it.

"Stella, its Kerry."

"Hey, boss lady what's up?" Stella laughed over the phone. Shannon was standing in front of her with a hand on either side the bench, trapping the younger woman against the bench again; the stir fry on the stove momentarily forgotten as she stared into Stella's pale blue eyes.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

Stella quickly changed her approach. "What can I do for you Kerry?"

"Are you able to come down to the base tonight? I need you to identify someone," said the Inspector.

"Identify who?"

"Leon noticed a man entering your apartment four times since you've been at Shannon's. He's shorter than your description but he has a key every time. We need a positive ID from you to grab him."

"Has there been anything around Josh's?" asked Stella.

Shannon had noticed that her girlfriend had gone quiet during her conversation with Kerry and watched carefully, trying to clue in on what they were talking about.

"Nothing. Just yours. So can you come in tonight? If not, you can come in early tomorrow."

"Give us half an hour?" proposed Stella, sneaking a look at the stove top and then motioning to Shannon. Their dinner was on its way to becoming charcoal and Shannon turned around to quickly dish it.

Stella ended the call with Kerry and looked at the phone for a moment before raising her eyes to Shannon in front of her. Her girlfriend looked concerned and let the younger woman take a moment to digest whatever she had been told.

"What's going on?" Shannon's head was tilted to the side with curiosity.

"Leon's found a guy going into my apartment on that camera four times since I've been here. He has a key to my apartment," said Stella, unconsciously rubbing her fingers over the small faded cut on her temple. "Kerry wants me to go in and see if I can identify him from the footage."

Shannon moved forwards again and brushed her hands down either side of Stella's face, pushing little bits of hair aside and settled them on her neck, pressing a kiss to the healing injury. "How are you going to know if it's the guy who attacked you?"

Stella snuggled in close. "I won't. I guess she just wants to see if I know him from anywhere else."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Please?"

"Of course," agreed Shannon, pulling the brunette into her for a kiss. "When do we have to be at the base?"

"In about twenty five minutes."

"Okay, we may as well leave now," said Shannon, moving their dishes to the microwave.

They didn't bother with making themselves decent, deciding on the tracky pants and t-shirts they already had on with some street shoes. Stella stole the jacket that was hanging over the back of the couch, unsure if it was hers or Shannon's. It was a quiet twenty minute drive, the radio was turned off and all either of them could hear was the car's engine, other cars zooming past and Stella's thoughts. She was trying to think of people who had grudges or obsessions, people she didn't like who knew where she lived. She came up blank and Shannon could hear Stella's thoughts hit the brick wall hard several times before they make it to base.

When they walked in, they made no attempt at hiding any affection they had for one another with an arm around shoulders and waists, and played it off as comforting a friend when Leon asked. Ever since Detective Sam Stone had mentioned that Stella and Shannon were 'dating' to the group, Leon had taken it upon himself to look for minor details in their behaviour.

Kerry was waiting for them behind Leon as he played with the settings of a screen capture. There was a blurry image of Stella's front door, and a man looking over his shoulder up and down the staircase as he pushed the key into the lock.

"Hey, girls," said Kerry. "How much longer, Leon?"

"A couple of minutes."

"What are you doing?" asked Shannon, taking a seat next to the tech-head.

"Just trying to filter the image to get a better quality."

The four of them sat in silence as the tiny bar ran over the image repeatedly, creating a clearer image all together. It took Stella all of six seconds to recognise who had been illegally entering her apartment with key that should've existed. She could notice the ratty brown hair anywhere and the glasses were a dead giveaway. Kerry had barely gotten the question out of her mouth when it was answered.

"Dayle."

"Got a last name?" asked their boss.

"I've never taken notice. He's just Dayle to everyone."

"Who's everyone?"

"Everyone in my apartment building. He's the maintenance worker for my building. He fixed my sliding door about a month ago," explained Stella. "He's never given any indication of fixations on people at all, let alone me. He's too shy."

"Well, even if he isn't your stalker, he's still breaking and entering your apartment."

"I'd be curious to know where he got a copy of your key," suggested Shannon, frowning at the image on the screen. She had never seen him around the building before, but then again every time she had been to Stella's apartment, she had been slightly distracted by a certain brunette.

Kerry raised an eyebrow silently at Shannon's remark; Shannon was beginning to get protective. Hopefully it wouldn't interfere with their jobs too much. Leon was oblivious to the underlying tone in Shannon's voice as his fingers flittered across his keyboard.

"My landlord has a spare copy of everyone's keys, just in case. All he had to do was pretend the tenants have asked for some maintenance and he's got a key that he can copy," said Stella. She had been unable to take her eyes off of the screen in front of her.

"Leon, see if you can track him down; home address, GPS, whatever. Just find him," ordered Kerry as Leon began to type away furiously on his keyboard. "Has he ever seemed dangerous or violent?"

"He was always nice, but he seems like the kind of guy, that never fights back until he snaps."

"Alright. You guys can go home if you want." The two woman made to leave but their boss pulled them back. "Ah, Shannon. The paperwork for your promotion still has to go through the proper channels, but you should be able to start as a Senior Sergeant on Monday."

"Alright, thanks. Have a good night, Kerry."

"Night, boss lady!"

"What did I tell you!"

The two women wrapped their arms around each other again, bid goodnight to Leon whose mind suddenly flooded with images, and walked back out to the car. Stella had gone quiet again, leaning into Shannon as they headed across the parking lot to Shannon's SUV. The temperatures were beginning to get colder as the seasons changed, and a light rain had begun to settle across the city. Once they were back in the safe haven of the car, Shannon immediately turned the heaters on and they sat there quietly for a few moments while the car warmed up.

"You okay?" asked Shannon, as she shifted in the driver's seat to face her girlfriend.

"Yeah. I just...I can't see Dayle doing anything. He's always looked, but he's never actually cracked on to me. I just can't make any sense of it. There is no way that he is my stalker, he's too short to be my attacker."

Stella sighed and tiredly rubbed her face, stopping to think for a moment. She was pulled from her trance by Shannon's hand reaching for her hand, intertwining their fingers together. When she looked up, Shannon was leaning across the console bringing them closer to each other.

"While I can't blame him for looking," she started with a small smile, "He's been entering your apartment without your permission. This might be able to link him to those flowers. All we have to do is arrest him, ask him some questions."

"Yeah. I just, I don't know."

She sounded defeated to Shannon, who couldn't think of anything to say. Stella had been able to provide supportive words when Shannon was experiencing her own crisis. She decided on physical comfort instead. Her free hand slipped behind Stella's neck, gently playing with the hair at the base of her neck. Their foreheads bumped softly and Shannon earned a small smile.

"How do you always know what to do to make me smile?" asked Stella, pulling back from a soft kiss.

"Because I love you."

"I love you, too," smiled Stella. They shared one more kiss before Shannon drove out of the parking lot with one hand, the other still loosely ripping Stella's.

Kerry watched from the window of the front door, smiling at how easily and casually they were able to show their affection for each other. Shannon and Stella had become practically family and she was glad they had found love.

The next morning, Michael shuffled in half drunk, stinking like a pub. Everyone quickly pushed him towards the showers. One hour and three painkillers later, he was standing at the back of the group surrounding Kerry and Lawson for briefing. Stella and Josh were standing next to them, while Shannon tried to subtly smile at her girlfriend.

"Welcome back to active duty, Josh. Okay, once again. TR1, girls you're with me, TR2, Josh and the boys. Alright. Last night Stella was able to give a positive ID on a man that had been illegally entering her apartment several times in the last week. Leon."

The black screen lit up and the image of the maintenance worker from the security tapes appeared along with a short list of minor past offences. Stella gulped, suddenly repulsed.

"Dayle William Whitman. Other than working in Stella's apartment building as the maintenance worker, there is no obvious connection between him and Stella. There nothing linking him with Josh either."

"He's not the shooter," answered Josh, taking a long hard look at the screen.

Lawson nodded and continued on with his speech. "Alright. TR1 is going to go visit Whitman, providing Leon found an address ("Got it!" yelled Leon), and we're going to arrest him for breaking and entering. TR2 just stay vigilant on patrol today, Josh's shooter still hasn't been caught. Let's move out."

The girls headed out to the four wheel drive, tugging at the keys as they fought over who was going to drive. Shannon won out in the end and climbed into the driver's seat, adjusting everything slightly so she was comfortable, leaning back to glance at Stella in the rear view as they waited quietly for Lawson.

"You alright back there?" Lawson asked fifteen minutes later when they were heading towards Clifton Hill.

Stella had been thinking deeply about whether or not she would be able to hold herself or if she would snap at the sight of Dayle standing in front of her. She snapped out of her trance when Shannon called her name.

"What?"

"I said are you alright? But I guess I got my answer."

"Lawson, be nice, alright," warned Shannon. Shannon was glad that at least two people knew of the relationship she had with Stella, and they were the highest ranking officers at TR. Therefore if they needed to, Kerry or Lawson could pull rank and tell the boys to shut up.

"I might hang back just a bit when we talk to him. If I get too close, I might snap," she admitted.

"You're coming in with us. You don't have to say anything or do anything, but you being there might soften him up a bit."

"Yeah, and if he doesn't say anything, we can set my slightly pissed off looking girlfriend on him," said Stella sarcastically, making Shannon's angry expression disappear instantly.

Lawson shook his head at their playful banter. Stella had no problem with acknowledging her relationship with Shannon in front of Lawson, flaunt it if she could. Shannon was being more considerate to his feelings; he had lost the girl of his dreams to another woman, both of whom were under his command. It was a bit of a kick in the guts.

The car rolled to a stop outside an old looking, red brick building no more than four level's high. The railings on the balconies and the cars parked out the front her rusted. TR1 was in mint condition compared to the other vehicles in the street.

"Leon, are you sure we have the right address?" asked Stella as she stepped out of the car.

"Yep, according to this, he lives there with his mother."

Shannon chuckled. "Let's get this over with."

The trio trudged up the stairs to the second storey, turning right at the top and headed along the balcony towards the street.

"Unit 2E."

Luckily, Lawson knocked on the door, sparing Shannon or Stella from the duty while they pulled faces at each other. They could hear heavy footsteps on the carpeted floor inside the unit and then several locked being unlocked to open the flimsy door to reveal the small sliver of a tiny older woman. There was four chains hanging across the opening and a bolt at the top of the door.

"Yes?" snarled the woman.

"Mrs Whitman? I'm Senior Sergeant Lawson Blake. I'm looking for your son Dayle. Is he home?"

The little lady eyed Lawson for a moment, then Shannon and finally Stella. "What do you want with my boy?"

"May we come in?" he asked politely.

"Hold on!"

The door slammed in their faces and Shannon flinched openly. They could hear more chains being removed from their locks before it flew open with screech.

"Dayle! What have you done this time?" She yelled into the bedrooms at the back.

"Geez," muttered Shannon under breath.

Dayle walked out and was in the middle of yelling back 'what!' when he spotted the Stella standing behind two police officers, he promptly turned and ran. Shannon and Lawson stood there calmly in the middle of the filthy lounge room. Stella looked back and forwards between the two.

"He's not going anywhere," said Lawson, moving towards the direction Dayle had taken. He turned back to Stella who looked slightly confused. "It's a two bedroom unit with one entrance."

When they reached the end of the hallway, the TR members discovered that he had locked his bedroom door.

"Shan, you take point."

Stella leaned against a blank space of wall back down the dark hallway.

"Dayle? I'm Sergeant Shannon Henry. I need you to come out here," she said, listening for any movement within the small room.

"I didn't do anything!"

"If you didn't do anything, then why did you run?" she asked. Her tone was soft and inviting. She didn't want to scare him off any more than their uniforms already had.

There was a long silence.

"Because of her."

"Because of who?" Shannon knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Stella." The way he said it made both girls shiver slightly.

"Leon, get some uniforms down here to take when we're done," Stella requested.

Dayle's mother returned to the end of the hallway, shadowing what little light they already had. "Dayle! You get out here now!"

As all heads turned to his mother, the door opened quietly and he stood in the doorway, hands buried in his jean pockets. They quickly turned back to Dayle.

"Turn around and face the wall, hands above your head," ordered Lawson, forcing Dayle to comply as the TR leader began to search him.

"I didn't do anything," said Dayle, eyes cast towards the floor as he sat next to his mother on the couch. His hands were now flex-cuffed behind his back.

"See that's the thing. I know you're lying," exclaimed Lawson. Dayle began to interrupt, but Lawson held out a hand and he immediately quietened down. "We have you on video, illegally entering Senior Constable Dagostino's apartment four times in the past week while she hasn't been there."

Dayle's mother hit him several times across the back of the head, but he remained quiet.

"Now I want to know why you've been going in there, before we take you to the nearest station so you can be formally charged."

It seemed as if he was having an internal fight with himself. Stella watched on, still having yet to speak, from near the front door. What Dayle said next nearly made her fall over from slipping against the door.

"Some cop told me do it."

"Did he give you a name?"

"No," he scoffed.

"What did he want you to do?"

"He paid me to put some flowers in one day."

"What kind of flowers?" asked Stella.

"Lilly's. Then one day he asks for a copy of the key. He paid extra for it and I needed the cash."

"Okay, so what have you been doing going in there?"

"He wanted me to put some more stuff in there. A jewellery box, some chocolates, more flowers. Told me to take a photo as well."

"Which photo?" asked Stella, walking to stand in front of Dayle. The photo's she had in her apartment were her treasures; reminders of the people who had left, the people who had stayed, and the ones she loved.

"The one of you two girls at a restaurant."

"Josh's birthday last year," murmured Stella. That photo had once sat on her bookshelf. After she started dating Shannon, it moved to her bedside table. "Can you describe the guy?"

Lawson had been pushed out of the questioning, but he silently decided that if Stella could remain calm she could ask the questions.

"Yeah. Ahh, about your height," he said, nodded at Lawson. "Blonde hair, broad shoulders, muscular, always wears a suit."

Several people flashed through Stella's mind, but only one really stood out.

"How did you know he was a cop?"

"Moron forgot to hide his badge the first time he talked to me. It was hanging from the chest pocket on his suit."

"Remember anyone, Stel?" asked Shannon, moving to stand by the couch to have a look at Dayle's flex-cuffs, just to make sure he hadn't cut them with something hidden in the couch.

"One."

"Alright, you're coming with us. The uniform's waiting outside are going to take you to the closest station and charge you. Leon, send them the video footage," ordered Lawson, as he and Shannon walked Dayle out by the elbows, down the stairs to the marked police car that had just pulled up to the curb.

Shannon and Stella stood near TR1, watching as Lawson described everything to the general duties officers from Clifton Hill.

"Who do you think it is?" asked Shannon, leaning into the back seat slightly as Stella sat on the edge of the seat.

"Detective Sam Stone. Sir Perv-a-lot."

"He is the right build for your attacker."

"Yep." Stella gulped. "All we need now is a positive ID on him from Dayle."

Lawson joined them from the marked police car. "What do you think, Stel?"

"Detective Sam Stone."

"The guy from Preston who was harassing you? The guy from the pub the other night?"

Stella nodded. "It's big to point the finger at a cop, so introducing Stone into Whitman's interrogation has to be subtle."

"You can have a nice long chat with Kerry, explain every move he's ever made towards you and then she can take a photo over to the interrogation," suggested Lawson.

Stella nodded and gulped. With a name to her attacker, she could rest a little more easily; any random person in the street wasn't going to attempt to seriously hurt or even kill her. But by identifying a police officer as her stalker, this made Stella's fear increase at the same time. He had access to certain protocols that a civilian wouldn't.

There was a quick shared look between Stella and Shannon. The Sergeant's finger gently brushed Stella's cheek, a soft smile on her face. Stella smiled back and followed her girlfriends nod to hop back in the car.

"Alright, come on you love birds."

They chuckled and climbed back into TR1 to finish out their shift. It wasn't very exhilarating, attending to a Molotov cocktailed car in the eastern suburbs. When they arrived back at the base, their shift just finishing, Kerry was waiting for them, standing with several sheets of paper in her hands, looking slightly sombre.

Stella climbed out of the driver's seat, having taken over for Shannon after lunch. "Hey boss lady what's up?"

Kerry glared at her. "I've got some news for you, come with me."

Stella's eyes went slightly wide and she looked to Shannon, who shrugged and pointed after Kerry. Stella hurried after her boss and into her office.

"What's going on?" asked Stella as she took a seat opposite the desk.

"I went to interview of Dayle Whitman this afternoon."

"What did he say?" came out, words blending together as they were spoken with intense speed.

"He stuck to his story that he was paid by a cop to enter your apartment several times without your permission to do odd jobs for him. When I asked about the attack, he went nuts and denied it profusely."

Stella nodded as she took in the information.

"What about the ID?"

"He positively ID'd Stone from a group of six as the guy who paid him. Unfortunately, unless he admits it, you can't ID him as your attacker. He didn't say anything to you."

Kerry's phone went off and Stella slumped into her seat, her vest digging into her back, as she tried to remember anything that could nail him as her attacker. She went to leave when Kerry pulled her back and ended the call.

She sat up straight as a memory was triggered. "Stone had some bruising on his head when we came into the pub on Friday night. Right where an injury would have been on the guy I hit."

"Clifton Hill handed the case over to ESD, they went to talk to him and he ran. ESD is going to want a word with you. Mention the bruising. They'll be in tomorrow before you're shift. There will be a surveillance unit outside Shannon's until we catch him," explained Kerry. "Go home, Stel."

"Thanks, Kerry."

Stella left the office and walked back down to the locker rohadom to get changed. She filled Shannon in on their way home. Detective Sam Stone was officially scaring her. When they arrived home, they cleared the house with their service weapon's Kerry let them take home for protection. Stella didn't sleep at all that night and Shannon didn't get much more. Her stalker had gone off grid, no one knew where he was. They were waiting for him to make his move.

* * *

Monday arrived slowly; Shannon's first shift as a Senior Sergeant. Stella had caught her introducing herself to her bathroom mirror with her full rank, and promptly made fun of her girlfriend while telling her that she was proud of her. Shannon barely ate breakfast, just sculled a cup of hot coffee, and on top of having barely any sleep all week, she was set to be in a sour mood. Shannon became more and more nervous as Stella drove towards the base.

When they got there, Michael caught her introducing herself into the mirror in her locker as she put her uniform on.

Lawson had taken pity on Shannon and placed Stella and Christian in the car with her.

"So what's the preference for day one? Smooth or hairy?" asked the Islander from the back seat.

"Just take it as it comes."

VKC then spurted to life as backup was requested at a juvenile detention centre where a mass breakout had occurred.

"We'll take that. TR2 responding. Lawson you good to go?"

"Yep."

In TR1 Lawson and Michael shared a laugh.

"Alright, Leon, get us some details. Let's move it," she said, looking at Stella with a stern smile.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Stella grimaced, her headache intensifying minutely. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day as she drove towards the detention centre. It didn't take them long to spot several of the offenders running down a street not far from the centre. Shannon wasted no time in telling Stella which was to go. As soon as the car had stopped, Christian and Stella were gone, chasing after the two teenagers.

"You might be fast. But I'm faster," boasted Christian.

"Not as fast a Ben," disagreed the boy.

"Who's Ben?" asked Stella. When he didn't answer, she asked Leon. "Leon, who's Ben?"

Shannon had TR2, to continue the patrol for the last offender. Kerry quickly suggested that it was a ploy, that if all of the offenders head one way, the last one can go in the opposite direction. Shannon found him trying to hail a taxi out the front of the detention centre and efficiently arrested him as the taxi drove off.

"In future when you stage a break out, Ben, you might want to tell your decoys not to be so obvious."

"I didn't think I'd get caught by a girl. How about I buy you a coffee before you take me in?"

"Cute."

"I know a great little place in Brunswick."

"Is that called Fairview Detention Centre? 'Cause that's where you're going," deadpanned Shannon, gripping Ben's arm a little more firmly.

Ben continued to make attempts at starting conversation's with Shannon, but she wasn't in the mood to be playing games with a seventeen year old escaped criminal on her first day as Senior Sergeant. The next thing she knew, they were both face down on the grass not far from TR2.

"You seem a little on edge," he smiled, and was ordered into the car, Shannon buckling him into the backseat. "Nice perfume."

"Thanks. It's my girlfriends."

He scoffed again as she shut the door in his face. Shannon ignored the boy in the back of the car and explained that she had arrested him. She was in the middle of being told what to do by Lawson, when TR2 suddenly roared to life and took off down the driveway of the detention centre. All she could do was watch as the car was stolen. She spotted the flex-cuffs she had used on Ben, cut thrown out like garbage onto the bitumen.

"Shit!" she muttered. This was going to be a bitch to tell Kerry. "He's stolen TR2!"

"What?" came at her from three different people; Kerry, Lawson and Leon.

The uniforms pulled up and she hopped in, telling them that she needed to get back to her teammates.

"Hey, hey, hey, look who it is?" laughed Stella, as her girlfriend did the walk of shame. "Nice ride."

"We're going to need their car."

"What?" asked Stella, dumbfounded at the request and began laughing again. "Are you serious? Hey boys."

"Just arranging transport, Kerry," Shannon informed her boss. Shannon now had a burning hatred for the comms they used because everyone else could hear the conversation as well.

"Shannon, you have been a Senior Sergeant for fifteen minutes and you've already had your vehicle stolen by a seventeen year old kid!" scorned Kerry. Leon was giggling with Audrey at their computers. Stella looked at her girlfriend sympathetically as the uniforms vacated the marked car.

"Look, he's tripped and taken me down with him. He picked my pocket," she argued.

"Well what equipment does he have access to?" wondered Kerry.

"The strong box is fully stocked," said Shannon, realising that this could lead to a disaster. If she wasn't careful this could end her TR career. Shannon turned to look at her team, Stella watching the car with a soft look on her face.

"Well, you had better hope he doesn't figure that out."

Leon managed to find the GPS location of TR2 and told Shannon over the comms.

"Go, go," said Shannon, the door slamming behind her.

Stella had an amused look on her face as she drove the car away from the scene. "I'm going."

Michael was being sarcastic as Lawson let Shannon make the decisions. She had done the crime, she had to do the time, so to speak. The general duties police officers ended up boxing in TR1 with Michael and Lawson inside.

"You alright, Stel?"

"Yeah, yeah, just a headache. I think I pulled something."

"Suck it up. You know what they say: pain is weakness leaving the body."

"Yeah, cheers for that," said Stella, swallowing two pain killers she had found in the marked car. Having a headache always made her cranky and upset at the slightest noise or movement. Shannon was no exception today and would bear the full brunt of Stella's anger if it came to blows.

"You should be right on him," said Leon.

"Well, he's not here," said Shannon.

"You sure?"

"I can't see him."

A moment later, Shannon found the GPS sitting on top of a rubbish pile. "I found the transponder unit."

Stella simply smiled and crossed her arms. Christian was looking slightly worried. Kerry told her off. Lawson called her phone when Leon listed the standard inventory.

Ben had a standard comms pack and was probably listening to their conversation at that present time. Their mobile phone bills were going to go through the roof by the end of their shift. Now everyone was going to hear her attempts at negotiating with a cocky teenager who had stolen a police vehicle.

"Ben, this is Senior Sergeant Shannon Henry?"

"Is that you muscles?" he asked. "Are you the young lady whose car I stole?"

Stella tried to stifle a giggle as she drove and Shannon simply glared at her.

"Yes, that's right."

"Sorry about that. I was going crazy in that detention centre. No music, you see. Do you like this song Shannon?"

"It's not bad. Ben, you're in a very dangerous situation here. Look I need you to pull the car over and talk to me."

He was simply messing with her by now. This was the worst first day of Shannon's life, and her girlfriend wasn't being very supportive.

"Has something upset you today?"

"I asked a pretty girl out on a date and she rejected me."

Stella lifted an eyebrow at Shannon.

"Oh, I promise to pay back that money from your wallet." Shannon's eye slid shut in anger. "And ah, cute photo by the way."

Stella looked into the rear view mirror and could see Christian smirking. He mouthed back 'karma'. Shannon's phone went off and she tried to justify her failed attempts at reasoning with Ben. Then Leon rang.

"Okay, Shannon, relax. I'm putting a block on your bank accounts and credit cards."

"Don't worry, my accounts empty and my cards are maxed."

"It's too late. If anyone tried to access your accounts, we'll get the jump on his location. Did you say that you've got nothing in your account?"

"It's bone dry."

"Not any more. Someone's just deposited one hundred grand."

"How do you know my account numbers?"

The occupants of the car just giggled again and Shannon ordered Leon to double check Ben's recent history. Less than five minutes later, it came as news to the team that Ben had robbed a arts supply store for more than three thousand dollars. Dressed in a Tactical Response Uniform.

"How the hell did he get that?" asked Shannon.

"I keep a spare one in the back," admitted Christian quietly. "Look, I'll make amends and note to keep my spare in my locker the next time I think the car's going to get pinched."

"Well make another one: not to be a smartarse."

Stella smiled at Shannon again. By staying relatively quiet for the day, Stella was less likely to dig herself a hole, or at least avoid digging a deep hole, with her girlfriend. She parked the car in the Brunswick street Ben had been spotted along. Lawson told them all to split up and search thoroughly.

"You've got to admire the kid," said Michael. "He thinks on his feet."

"He's a crook," said Stella.

"At least he's free."

"Not for long," she laughed, and they continued down the main street.

Christian found the car barely ten minutes after they had all split up, and Ben shot him with the beanbag shot gun.

"You're armed with a Glock and he's shooting at you?" asked Shannon, as Christian applied the ice pack to his bruised shoulder.

"I'm not about to shoot a kid armed with a bean bag rifle."

"Well you don't have to make that obvious to him."

"Hey Shannon," called Lawson, directing her away from the eyes of the rest of the team. "Just tone it down a bit."

"One of team got shot!"

"Just listen to me for two seconds okay? If I have to pull you off this, these guys will never back you again. Stop whinging, stop blaming and stop criticising everyone," explained Lawson.

Shannon sighed heavily as Stella walked past.

"You okay?" she whispered.

"You gonna laugh at me again?" she replied.

"We'll see. Are you okay?"

"Hopefully, I'll still have a team by the end of the day," answered Shannon. She sounded defeated as they walked back to the general duties car together, Christian not far behind. The emptiness in Shannon's voice made Stella feel slightly guilty about laughing at her girlfriend earlier, and she felt her heart crack at this.

Shannon's phone went off when Kerry called. She called for Lawson and put it on speaker phone. Ben had turned eighteen the same day Shannon had her first day as Senior Sergeant. At a court appearance, the Judge had charged Ben as an adult which meant prison and not juvenile detention. They came to the conclusion to let Ben talk to his mother.

As they got in the cars, Shannon heeded Lawson's advice and turned to Christian. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

They listened as Ben's mother mocked him, and his actions. "The smartest boy in school spending his life getting chased by the cops!"

"I thought we could do something together, go to Phillip Island."

As soon as she started to insult her son, Josh pulled her off the phone. Ben had gone quiet and Shannon was back to negotiating.

"Ben, can you hear me? It's Shannon. Ben?"

Ben refused to response and was spotted momentarily at the Etihad Stadium. It didn't take long for them to find their stolen vehicle parked roughly on the third level with the driver's door wide open. The TR members immediately got out of the cars to clear the vehicle. Shannon and Lawson went to the front seats while Stella checked the inventory in the strong box.

"Oh, good, he left my wallet," said Shannon as she tucked it into her vest.

"And the comms pack," said Lawson. "Leon, we're back in communications. Get onto CCTV and try to find will ya."

"VKC this is TR2, we've located the stolen vehicle along with missing weapons. All backup units requested to stay outside the stadium, over."

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Lawson, looking at her like she was insane.

"The kid had got nothing to lose. We don't want him having a face off with a bunch of junior constables and their glocks."

'_Nice call,'_ thought Lawson. "Well, we have to find him first."

The blocked off TR2 with the marked car, locked all three vehicles and headed into the stadium to search for Ben. Shannon, Christian and Lawson were on the second tier of seats and couldn't see anyone, not even a worker. Leon was sifting through the CCTV footage to find him, while Stella and Michael were running through stairwells and corridors.

On a landing in between levels, in the stairwell, Stella's head began to sear in pain as she was running. She was bent over, hands on her knees, trying to focus on her breathing and ignore the pain. As her mind began fogging with pain and her body began to sweat, Audrey's voice came over the comms.

"He's headed for the stairwell, second level, gate three."

"I'm there guys," said Stella, shakily. Shannon heard her voice come through the earpiece; it was not the strong, confident voice of Stella. Something was wrong.

"Stop, Police! Guys, he's heading down."

Ben had just reached the landing at the bottom of the stretch of stairs Stella was on, when she grabbed the railing, gripping it tightly with her face contorted in pain. Ben kept running. Her vision was becoming blurry and dark and she could see a figure in a TR uniform coming back up the stairs. Ben took a left at the bottom, disappearing as Shannon came up the stairs, Michael just behind her. She could see Stella's feet on the stairs, she wasn't moving.

"Go after him," she ordered and ran up the stairs towards Stella. She had just reached the bottom of the stretch. "Stella. You okay?"

Shannon didn't get a response as her girlfriend fainted, falling from the stairs. Shannon just caught her before she hit the concrete and tumbled to the bottom, lifting the smaller woman to lay on the landing.

"Stella, Stel. Can you hear me? Come on," said Shannon, checking her pulse. She had her hands on either side of Stella's face holding her neck. "Stel, sweetie, open your eyes. Leon, I need a medic at Stella's last known position. She's fainted."

It wasn't until after Christian and Lawson had joined her, that Michael came back. "I lost him. Is she okay?"

Stella's eyes opened to just a crack, her face showing her confusion at what had happened.

"Hey, no, no don't move. Stay still. What happened? You okay?" Shannon asked, holding Stella's shoulders down to prevent her from getting up.

"I don't know. I saw Ben and then everything just went black. My head hurts."

"Okay, just stay down. Leon, where is that ambulance?"

"Five away. I've spotted him, he's heading to the roof."

"Shannon, you, me and Michael and going to go after Ben," instructed Lawson. When he saw the look on her face that clearly said she didn't want to leave her girlfriend, he quickly reminded her. "You started this with this kid, and you're going to finish it. Christian, you stay here with Stella."

"I'll see you later, okay, Stel?"

Stella simply nodded and told her to go back to work. Shannon smiled at her girlfriend, and then glared at her boss as she followed him back up the stairs. Fifteen minutes later and they still hadn't been able to spot Ben, he hadn't followed through on his way to the roof and Michael had disappeared when the ambulance officers were loading her into the ambulance.

"Hey do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" he asked, moving to get in.

"I'm fine!" exclaimed the Senior Constable, taking another breath of the whistle.

"Just one more look, you guys go that way and I'm going to go back this way," said Shannon as they all met up on the second tier.

"Okay, I've got him!" yelled Leon. "He's on the upper level heading for the roof near you."

She turned and could see him disappear into a doorway. She pulled out her weapon and began to clear the stairs leading to the roof.

"Ben!" she called, finally finding him sitting on the edge of the roof.

"I'm glad it's you who found me."

"Me, too."

"You're a good guy, Ben. I can see that."

"You heard my mum."

If Shannon wasn't careful, he would jump. Slowly, she began to make her way across the roof, holstering her weapon to show that she meant no harm. "If you go quietly, it'll help."

"Is that what you'd do? Go quietly?" he asked.

"You can be anything you want to be," she said.

He scoffed at her, "That's bullshit, Oprah!"

"It's not!"

"It's A-grade bullshit."

"It's not. You simple do your time, get out and start again," she explained, trying to reason with him. She could see it wasn't working.

"No, thanks. I've gotta fly," he replied, turning to get off the edge. He went to run and jump over the edge around the corner from where he had been sitting, but Shannon tackled him roughly on the corrugated steel of the roof.

"Ben Miller, you are under arrest!" she said, forcing his head down and his hands into cuffs. "I've got him. He's been detained."

"Thank God," said Christian.

"This time make sure he doesn't trip you and pick your pocket," retorted Lawson.

Shannon laughed and sat Ben against the wall opposite the door. She sighed loudly when Lawson patted her shoulder to let her know he was there. Chasing Ben Miller across Melbourne had taken their entire shift. By the time they got back to the base Kerry simply told them to do their paperwork tomorrow.

"Alright, shift's over, go home," said Kerry, walking into her office.

"Hey, Kerry, how'd Stella go at the hospital?" she asked, following the Inspector in.

"Ah, something about having low blood pressure and not eating enough. Tash said she'd be fine, just to sleep the headache off and have decent meals, lay off the alcohol for a while and regular exercise."

"Okay, where is she?"

"I dropped her off at yours."

"Thanks, Kerry."

Josh met her in the hallway, walking with her towards the parking lot. "Well, well, well."

"Not a word out of you," she smiled, pointing her finger at the man. He laughed.

"Everyone has a shit first day at some point. This one was yours," he explained. "You alright?"

"Yeah. What was shit first day?" she asked.

"First day on the job as a cop. The car got t-boned and I had a gun pointed my head."

Shannon stood there thoughtfully for a moment, "Seriously?"

"Yeah. You get most embarrassing, I get most injured, alright. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. A shit first day and now I get to go home and look after Stella," she smiled.

"Try not to kill her 'ey?" he yelled jokingly across the parking lot. Shannon waved him off and got into her car, in a hurry to get home.

Twenty minutes later, she arrived home, the house as quiet as a tomb. She couldn't hear anything, but didn't want to call out in case Stella was asleep. She wasn't on the couch, so Shannon left her bag at the front door with her coat, slipping her boots off and slowly making her way upstairs. Stella was snoring lightly in the bed, curled around a pillow on the edge.

Shannon smiled at the peacefulness of the scene and kneeled next to the bed, kissing her girlfriend's forehead to wake her up, her hand resting on Stella's hip.

"Hey, gorgeous."

"Hey, yourself," smiled Stella, her eyes opening slightly.

"Do you feel a little better?"

Stella nodded into the pillows.

"Why are you hugging the pillow?"

"It's your pillow. You weren't home yet," muttered Stella.

"Let me get changed and I'll lay down with you. Yeah?"

Stella simply nodded again and watched with bleary eyes as Shannon stripped own to her underwear and slipped on some shorts and a baggy t-shirt, before calmly getting into the bed and spooning Stella who hummed in contentment.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch today, babe," apologised Shannon, her chin resting on Stella's shoulder.

"That's okay, I'm sorry for laughing at you." Stella turned slightly and pressed her lips to Shannon's, and then turned over completely to snuggle into Shannon's side. "You've got to admit it was kind of funny."

Shannon giggled against Stella, only tightening her grip around her girlfriend's waist.

"A little funny. Just promise me that you won't scare me like that again."

"I'll try. In our line of work, I can't promise anything. I love you Senior Sergeant."

"I love you too, Senior Constable."

Stella drifted into a light sleep, Shannon content to lie there holding her girlfriend, enjoying the feeling of Stella's calm breathing pattern.

* * *

**So what did you think?**


	12. The Confession

**Okay, I'm SORRY that it took this long to pos 7500 words. Work has been hectic and I think I prefer having the routine of school and homework because then I can't put it off for too long, it was like a piece of homework for me. Any questions or anything feel free to PM me.**

**StellaLover6 - Thank you, it makes it easier with a pre-written plot line, even though the chapter doesn't have an episode. The next chapter will have two**

**Vicki - Thanks. It made me smile too, especially because I was watching the episode when I wrote those parts and I just thought, why not?**

**HappyHereford - It is a bit hard trying to read/review on a mobile, I know how you feel**

**aquasm - They are getting longer and longer and its getting harder and harder to write more each time. Thankfully I already have 2000+ words written for the next chapter.**

**In A Rush - Yeah work is a little hectic at the moment, I'm working full time shifts and trying to figure out flights/accomodations etc for my trip in 4 months. After being forced to watch Shannon and Lawson 'get it on', I had to fight back. Throw it in his face. And yes Stella's stalker is dealt with. Or is he?**

**K - whether or not it is your scene (I'm glad you enjoy it), thanks for the review, hope you're lurking to catch this next installment**

**To my readers: Your reviews encourage me to write faster because I know you want an update. Hope it's up to your standards. I'm going to lif my game for the next chapter, just you wait. And thanks to those who helped with certain scenes like my beta and Jaymie.**

* * *

Stella woke with a start, the headache she had gone to sleep with pounding lightly, behind the foggy tiredness that clouded her mind. Something had woken her from her slumber and it took her a few moments of looking and listening to the darkness of the house to remember. She had dreamt that someone had broken a window to get into the house. Shannon's arm, still wrapped around her waist, tightened as she sat up, pulling her back to the bed. Stella yawned and moved to settle back against her girlfriend, when her mind cleared; she could hear glass smashing downstairs. Stella's senses suddenly sharpened, ears straining to listen.

She could've sword that she heard that one floorboard in the hallway, the squeaky one, creak unexpectedly.

"Shannon!" whispered Stella, her head snapping back and forth the open doorway and her girlfriend as she tried to wake Shannon. "Shannon! Wake up!"

"Wassgoi-," Shannon started to mutter loudly, before Stella's hand covered her mouth.

"I think there's someone downstairs," whispered the brunette.

Shannon immediately stood up, her eyes widening. She yanked Stella's hand from her mouth silently, "What?"

"I heard something smash downstairs."

Shannon instinctively rolled away from Stella, towards her bedside table. Her Glock was sitting there calmly in the top drawer, the magazine next to it and the barrel empty. Stella's service weapon was at the base. Kerry didn't want her to take it home if she couldn't handle it. Shannon quickly loaded her weapon and quietly removed herself from the bed, stepping over a pair of discarded pants and poking her head out the door for a swift look down the hall before stopping to listen.

The floorboard creaked again, and Shannon risked a glance at Stella.

There was a light switch at the top of the stairs, just around the corner from Shannon. Listening to the darkness, her hand edged across the wall to flick the lights on and Stella could feel her heart thumping in her chest. Sure they were highly trained police officers, but at that moment the situation was different. Someone had come after them, the same way they chase criminals – they don't stop until they get their target.

There was the familiar snap of the switch and the top landing and the hallway flooded with light, reflecting it into the bedroom to cast shadows. The two women heard heavy footsteps thundering through the downstairs hallway, the unlocking of the front door and finally the gate opening, the pitter-patter of shoes on the concrete footpath fading into the distance.

Stella finally joined Shannon at the bedroom door, slowly creeping out, trying to blink back the dull pain behind her eyes as she stepped into the light, peering down the stairs carefully. Her hand rested on Shannon's back, making her girlfriend jump. Stella had never seen the other woman so jumpy and skittish.

"You okay?" Stella whispered.

"Yeah," answered Shannon, nodding sharply and raising her gun automatically to search the bottom level of her house. "Stay here."

Stella hid herself in the doorway, watching as Shannon's face turned to one of concentration, identical to the one Shannon wore at work, as she disappeared down the staircase. The Senior Constable stood in silence, shivering as she waited for a few minutes. Her heart was beating fast, and she could hear her blood pounding in her ears.

It felt like an hour before Stella heard the distant voice of her girlfriend. "Clear!"

After running down the stairs as fast as she could, she found Shannon in the kitchen, weapon hanging loosely at her side as she took in the damaged door. The sliding glass door had been completely smashed in the offenders haste to get into the house. Stella realised that this was the glass she had heard smash and was surprised that it hadn't woken Shannon as well.

"Where are those surveillance officers?" asked Shannon, as she ran back down the hallway and outside.

The silver unmarked police car was sitting on Shannon's side of the street less than one hundred metres away, in front of a tree. The ground was wet and there was a light, calm drizzle as the Senior Sergeant emerged onto the slippery footpath, her arms waving to keep her balance while she looked up and down the street unable to spot the person who had just fled from her house.

When Shannon couldn't spot him in the limited light streaming from the street lamps, Stella arrived behind her shivering in her singlet, and followed her girlfriend towards the surveillance vehicle. As they got closer, both women noticed that there was no movement. If they had noticed anyone run out of the front gate, the Senior Constable and Constable would have given chase. Now that both Shannon and Stella were approaching the vehicle, they had to wonder why no one was getting out.

Shannon peered into the driver's side window, and sighed angrily as she pulled away.

"What?" asked Stella.

Shannon simply opened the driver's side door, the inside light coming on automatically. Senior Constable Cook was sitting in the driver's seat snoring lightly, her head leant back against the head rest. Constable Maxwell's head was leaning against his window as his breath fogged up the glass.

"They're both asleep. On the job!" Shannon yelled. Both occupants jerked upright and blinked in the sudden light before taking noticed of Shannon and Stella.

"What's going on?" asked Cook.

"You fell asleep is what's going on. The two of you were tasked to watch my house, to make sure that no one tried to go after Stella again," said Shannon, her face becoming angrier as she yelled. They both looked back at her with slightly vacant expressions. "Someone just broke into my house!"

"Oh, shit," exclaimed Maxwell, fumbling to get out of the car. "Which way did he go?"

"He's already gone, you idiot!"

"Shan," said Stella, pulling on the back of Shannon's t-shirt to get her attention. "Shannon!"

"What?" She snapped, her head whipping back around to face Stella.

Shannon had never lost it at her like that, even before they had begun dating. Stella stared back, unsure of what was going on, an invisible barrier suddenly distancing them.

"Let's go back inside. It's cold out here."

"These two deserve to be written up!"

"So make a complaint to their commanding officer. Just, please come inside, while they call for back up," suggested Stella, looking at the two officers with an emphasised expression on her face as a subtle hint. They quickly got to work, one radioing VKC and the other calling Kerry. All the officers watching Shannon and Lawson's house and apartment had been advised that any movement or issues, they were to call the Inspector immediately.

Stella's fingers gripped Shannon's wrist, pulling her back towards the house as her girlfriend huffed angrily. She had never seen the other woman so angry and upset, waiting silently until she was ready to blow up. As they re-entered the open house, Stella quickly dragged Shannon into the lounge room, removing the gun from her grip as she did. An angry Shannon she could handle, but an angry Shannon with a loaded weapon maybe not so much.

Shannon simply stood there, breathing deeply as she tried to control herself.

"What's going on that head of yours?" asked Stella quietly, one hand gently tugging at the hair at the base of Shannon's neck and the other simply holding her girlfriend closer.

"They are here to protect you," Shannon explained darkly, hand on her hips. "I am supposed to protect you and I let this creep get that close to you! How am I supposed to protect you if I sleep through him breaking into my house?"

Shannon's façade had begun to crack; the issues with the last two months had crept up on her and now she was breaking as a result. Stella could see the defeat in her half-closed eyes as she pulled away to slump against the back of the couch, tears brimming her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, "I shouldn't have snapped like that. I'm just so frustrated!"

There was a split second of surprise in the younger woman, but she didn't let it show. Besides the obvious, what exactly was frustrating Shannon? Stella left the gun to rest on a shelf of the small bookcase, and sidled up to Shannon, shuffling her way into a comfortable position between her girlfriend's legs. As she did, Stella tried to figure out who was more scared and insecure by the whole situation. Shannon's home had been violated, but Stone had only broken in, in an attempt to get to Stella.

"Hey," Stella started. Both hands rested casually on Shannon's limp hands, drifting up her toned arms soothingly. "It's okay. I'm okay. We're both okay. Shannon. Look at me!"

Shannon lifted her eyes just as a single tear dropped down her cheek.

"It's a lot of pressure with everything that's happened. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. Everything has just been building up, and most of it is getting dumped on you. Tonight was just the last straw," explained Stella. Shannon nodded, looking down as her girlfriend pulled the cross necklace out, playing with it between her fingers. "Just remember this, okay? We're gonna be okay. Everything's going to fine, babe."

"I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I just got you," muttered Shannon. "Stel, I'm falling for you so hard that it's almost painful."

Shannon's head dropped to Stella's shoulder and the brunette gathered her girlfriend in her arms, one under her arm and across her back while pushing her fingers into Shannon's messy ponytail. Her girlfriend weakly responded, wrapping her arms around Stella as she began to sob. Stella didn't know how to respond to that and simply gulped before pressing a kiss to her girlfriend's temple.

"I love you, Shan."

Shannon simply nuzzled into Stella's shoulder.

The distance that had been floating between them, keeping them apart, began to shrink as they came together. Stella could feel her heart break as Shannon spoke and only tightened her grip. She had never seen Shannon break down like this, even when her biological father reappeared out of nowhere.

The brunette pulled back after a few minutes, her hands guiding Shannon's head up so she could look into her pale blue eyes. Wiping the tears with her thumbs, Stella spoke. "I love you. I love you so much. Everything is going to be okay."

Shannon nodded, and brushed away her tears with strained smile. "I love you, too."

Their foreheads bumped together, Stella still muttering that everything was going to be okay, and Shannon cut her off tenderly kissed her girlfriend, both women forgetting that there were two officers calling for back up, forgetting that Kerry would arrive soon. They wanted this moment to stay between themselves.

Their kiss didn't grow hungry, but remained soft and sweet with only comfort and love flowing between the two women. When they finally broke apart, they had seconds to stare at each other before the flashing blue and red lights shone through the lounge room windows, and Kerry strode in calling their names not a moment later.

"In here," announced Stella.

The house was still in half-darkness and Kerry came around the corner to see them leaning against each other comfortably.

"You girls alright?" asked Kerry.

"Yeah, we're both fine," answered Shannon, sighing.

"Did he go upstairs at all?"

"No."

"I want you to sit on the stairs. The lower level of your house is now a crime scene, and even though it's your house, you can't be anywhere in here. S.O.P."

"Yeah, I know," Shannon agreed, letting Stella's fingers gently wrap around her wrist again, directing them to the bottom few steps of the staircase. Shannon sat on the small landing at the top of the four steps, Stella two steps lower. The older woman simply pushed her guilty thoughts to the back of her mind; she could deal with them later, and ran her hand up and down her thigh.

Stella could still feel the guilt coming off her girlfriend in waves as she sat on the carpeted step, leaning against Shannon's legs, her headache settled back in when Kerry turned the foyer light on. Their boss then proceeded to interrogate them on what had happened.

Stella jumped into explaining everything in detail, Shannon adding little bits of information every now and then, furious when it came time to explain why the surveillance officers didn't come in immediately. To say Kerry was ropeable would have been the understatement of the century, and the Inspector quickly turned on the two constables as they cowered against their car.

Shannon scoffed and said they deserved more, while Stella only patted her leg and covered her own eyes. Shannon noticed as Stella leaned forward, burying her head in the crook of her elbow to block out the light.

"Stel, are you okay?" she asked, leaning in closer.

Stella nodded into her arm and murmured. "The light is setting off my headache again."

Kerry heard her and promptly turned off the light in the foyer. Shannon sighed, brushing the palm of her hand across Stella's shoulders and pressing a kiss to the base of her neck, not caring if the forensics team that just walked in saw. Constable Maxwell slowly walked in to gather their statements, mindful of where Kerry was the entire time.

"I just need to get your statements. Who first realised that someone was in the house?"

Stella's head was still buried in the crook of her arm and Shannon took it upon herself to explain their view of the situation.

"Stella did. Something woke her up, and then she heard some smashing. Then she woke me up, I loaded my weapon, and waited. There's a floorboard just near the bottom of the stairs," explained Shannon, pointing to the offending piece of wood. "It creaks when you stand on in. My cat isn't heavy enough to make it creak. We heard the floorboard move, and I hit the light switch at the top of the stairs.

"The next thing we hear is someone running down the hallway, opening the door and running out into the street. I cleared the house, and Stella came downstairs. We headed outside to have a look in the street, and we couldn't see him. That's when we found you asleep in the car."

"And where were the two of you when this happened?"

"We were in the master bedroom. It's the first door on the right at the top of the stairs," explained Shannon.

"You were in the same bed?" Constable Maxwell's eyes bulged at the thought and he gulped when Stella lifted her head and glared at him.

"Yes. I only have one bed. We're both adults, not that I need to explain this to _you_," Shannon scoffed.

"Right. Sorry. Any idea who it was that broke in?"

"Are you serious? Why do you think you were tasked to watch the house?" asked Shannon, before turning to Kerry. The incompetence of these two officers was beginning to get on Shannon's nerves; they shouldn't have even graduated from the Police Academy. "Where does the academy find these guys?"

Kerry shrugged, and pulled him away to explain everything. Even the forensics team in the kitchen jumped when she yelled at him, before answering her phone and yelling at the person on the other end.

Stella groaned in pain, her head lolling to the side ever so slightly close to exploding. Shannon leaned forward to focus her vision to her girlfriend's face; her eyes were still closed and she would wince or grimace every time someone in the kitchen or front door spoke a little too loudly, or if the forensic specialists banged away, seemingly making as much noise as possible. A gentle kiss to Stella's cheek, and Shannon turned to Kerry just as the older woman snapped her phone shut.

"Kerry, her headache is getting worse."

"Why don't you take her upstairs? It's definitely quieter up there. I'll keep an eye on these guys for a few minutes. I've just got to make a phone call and then I'll be up."

Shannon nodded her approval, stepping down from her seat behind Stella to quickly enter the kitchen for a glass of water and two painkiller tablets. She caught the only female forensic specialist staring at the exposed skin of her hip as she reached for the tablet packet. She shrugged it off, blushing in the dim light before returning to Stella and practically carrying her upstairs to the bedroom.

On the trip up the stairs, Stella's grip on Shannon's hand only grew stronger. They entered their bedroom softly and Shannon helped her ailing girlfriend into a sitting position on the bed, closing the door behind them to block out any light.

"Babe, can you take the tablets for me?" asked Shannon, as she offered the two white pills on her flat palm, her other hand holding up the glass of water.

Stella tentatively opened her eyes, testing out the pain sensations as she did. When her headache didn't grow in severity, she was able to make out the outline of Shannon's worried face mere inches from her own and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Shannon's lips.

"Okay," she agreed, lifting a heavy arm to take the water and tablets, washing them down with a practiced skill. Shannon glanced at the clock as she placed the glass on the bedside table.

2:03 AM. They had to be up for work in four and a half hours.

Shannon sighed tiredly as she shifted the pillows on the bed so she could sit up against them. When she felt comfortable, Shannon pulled Stella into her lap, cradling her girlfriend who only curled into Shannon, snuggling as closely as she could.

"How's your head?" she asked after several minutes in silence, the occasional voice or footsteps echoing throughout the house.

"It's at migraine level right now. I just need a lot of sleep. And a decent breakfast."

Shannon smiled at the light hearted joke. Even when she was in pain, Stella still managed to make light hearted jokes. Stella tried to snuggle in closer, enjoying the warmth flowing off Shannon, and gripped the fabric of her t-shirt tightly. The brunette began to fall into a light sleep, her head turning ever so slightly when a small rap on the door tore them from their cosiness.

Kerry entered a moment later and nearly tripped on the pair of pants Shannon had left on the floor earlier when she had gotten changed. Shannon felt Stella smile against her neck and embraced the light heartedness of the moment, not noticing Kerry watching them with kind eyes as her hand drifted up and down Stella's back.

"If you two ever break up, I think I may have to kill you."

"Why?" asked Stella, her voice laced with fatigue.

"Because you're meant for each other. I can see it."

Stella opened her eyes enough to see her boss looking at them with adoration in her eyes and a soft smile on her lips, something Kerry rarely let show. Stella turned her head to smile up at Shannon but ended up yawning instead. Shannon grinned at her girlfriend, pressed a kiss to her forehead and turned her attention back to Kerry.

"So what's the plan?"

"A safe house has been set up-,"

"No," exclaimed Stella. Kerry looked back with shocked look on her face while Shannon avoided making eye contact. "No safe house. I'm not hiding from him. He needs to be caught."

"That's what we're trying to do," said Kerry.

"Yeah, everyone except the surveillance officers. Stel, it's better than sitting around while he breaks in again," said Shannon. Stella looked at her.

"No safe house," said Stella, moving from Shannon's lap to sit next to her on the bed. "If I'm in hiding, what's to stop him from going after the people I love to get me out?"

"There's always a chance he's going to do that anyway, whether or not you're in hiding, but right now Stella, it's your safety we have to think about. And Shannon's, and mine. Anything happens to you, she'd kill me," countered Kerry. Be

"Then use me as bait to draw him out," Stella said, proposing an idea that earned her two glares. "If we can draw him out before he hurts anyone else then we can arrest him. It's not like it's a plan that hasn't been used before."

"If you say no to a safe house, I say no to this," said Shannon, her look had gone dark as she met Stella's gaze. "I meant what I said downstairs. I just got you, I don't want to lose you so soon. I can't lose you."

Kerry watched silently as the two women argued loudly, without actually saying a word; their eyes were doing the talking.

"Stella!" ordered Kerry, rather strongly causing the brunette to wince at her tone. "Agree to the safe house, at least until this place is fixed. A minimum of two weeks, and Leon can get some things set up around here to keep a better eye on you. Then we can talk about using you as bait."

Her voice trailed off as she finished, and the Inspector was met with arguments automatically. Stella didn't like the idea of having to go into a safe house and Shannon disagreed to using her girlfriend as bait.

"It's that or we let him rage havoc in your lives until someone really gets hurt."

That got them to be quiet. Stella heard a defeated sigh come from Shannon and slid her hand across the messy sheets to tangle their fingers together.

"You love to guilt trip people, don't you?" offered Stella jokingly.

"Yeah. It's what mothers do best."

"Two weeks? That's it?"

"That's it. I swear."

"Fine, we'll use the safe house," relented Stella. Shannon smiled in the darkness and pressed a lingering kiss to Stella's cheek, whispering a 'thank you' in her girlfriends ear that was cut short by Stella's mobile ringing on the bedside table.

The three women stared at the offending piece of technology as it rang five times before cutting out. None of them dared to breathe when it started ringing again. Stella reached past Shannon and picked it up.

"The number is blocked," she said, a worried look covering her features as she looked at Kerry. she could feel Shannon's arm around her waist tighten.

"I'll get Leon on it. Put it on loud speaker," instructed Kerry, leaning heavily against the bed frame as she flicked through her contacts for Leon's name before walking into the hallway so she wouldn't be overheard.

There was a quick moment of hesitation before Stella pressed the button to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"I can see you," came through the phone, sending shivers up Stella's spine.

She knew the voice before he had barely let a full sentence out. It was the same deep, off putting tone that belonged to a certain blonde detective. The moment he spoke, Shannon was on edge with anger as she listened quietly. Stella pulled her in for a chaste kiss to calm her girlfriend.

"Stella, is everything okay? From where I'm standing, it looks like someone broke into that whore's house you're staying in."

He sounded so confident, so caring. No one would even know that he was her stalker, rather than a concerned friend, until they called Shannon a whore.

"Who is this?" she asked, seeing Kerry motion for her to keep going through the small gap in the door.

"You don't remember me, sweetheart?" he asked. Stella knew exactly who it was.

"No, I don't. Maybe if you give me your name, I might be able to remember you better," she suggested.

Stella knew that if she pushed too hard in the wrong direction, she would be putting the people she loved in even more danger than before. The only problem was that she wasn't sure how long she would be able to have a remain calm, as her headache began to fare up again, weaker than the one that felt like her head was being ripped open.

"It's your boyfriend, Sam. Remember me?"

Kerry motioned her again, more strongly this time.

"Sam Stone?"

"You remember me?"

"Yeah, like I could forget you," Stella muttered sarcastically, sharing a look with Shannon, as the Senior Sergeant ducked her head out of the small gap in the doorway to ask Kerry how far off Leon was from finding Stone's location. The intelligence officer had been working furiously to legally track down Stella's stalker, and when Kerry promptly looked the other way, he tried his not so legal ways.

"Thirty seconds," whispered Kerry.

Shannon nodded and rushed back to Stella, flicking on the bedside lamp as she went, before mouthing the time frame to Stella.

"Are you okay?" Stone asked, his voice full of worry that made Shannon sick to her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm okay. Can I ask you a question?" she asked innocently.

"Sure."

She could hear the grin in his words.

"You said before, 'from where you're standing'. I was just curious where you were standing?"

"How about you take me off speaker phone?"

Kerry stuck her head in the door and both she and Shannon shook their heads 'no'. It was standard procedure to have at least one officer listening to a conversation with a criminal. Stella gulped and disobeyed a direct order, moving the phone up to her ear.

"So where are you?"

"I'm close enough to read the number plate on that your boss's car and the one that's watching that bitch's house."

Kerry's car was parked in the driveway.

"She's not a bitch, or a whore." Stella reached for her bag on the floor, looking for a piece of spare paper or an old receipt, anything she could write on. It took her a moment to find something to scribble on and a pen, and Stone had already spoken again before she had even started writing.

"She's not good enough for you."

"Oh yeah, and who is?" Stella asked. She knew the answer before it even came out of his mouth and hurried to write on the old petrol receipt she had found.

'_He's close enuf 2 read Kerry's nmbr plate.'_ Shannon looked over her shoulder, her jaw dropping slightly as she took in the short-handed, barely illegible scrawl of her girlfriend's handwriting.

"I am."

"If you're so good then why did you attack me? Why did you break into my girlfriend's house?"

There was silence on the other end; she had made him angry, but Stella was more than pissed. Shannon rushed out of the bedroom to show Kerry the note. Their boss was already through the door yanking the phone from her grip as she yelled.

"Answer me!"

"Because I-,"

Stella's phone snapped shut in Kerry's hand, eyes wide with anger yet grateful that she hadn't had to hear his excuses for coming after her and her girlfriend.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded, glaring at Kerry. Stella thought she didn't want to know, but there was this feeling of desperation to understand.

"Leon's got his location. The boys are finding him now."

"Where is he?" she asked, standing straight, nearly falling over as a dizzy spell hit her reminding her of the headache gnawing at the pain receptors in the back of her head. Shannon caught her easily.

"Shannon, you keep her in this house! I don't care how you do it or what you might hear, alright, you keep Stella in this house!" ordered Kerry as she pointed at Stella, boring holes into Shannon with the look she was giving, before turning and swiftly leaving the room and effectively the house; they heard her yell at someone to move.

They sat there stunned for a few minutes before Stella made a beeline for the door. Shannon beat her to it as she planted her feet on the floor and pushed her back into the door, Stella's headache slowing her down slightly.

"Shannon, move."

"No. You heard what Kerry said."

"I don't give a damn what _Kerry said_. He's around here somewhere," she shuddered.

"You know Kerry only would have said it if she had a good excuse." Shannon looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, Stel."

They spent a few long minutes staring at each other, silently debating, and Shannon felt Stella's grip on the door handle ease, the younger woman leaning forward against Shannon's ever so slightly taller body in search of comfort. The Senior Sergeant quickly wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders, the other around her waist, holding as much of Stella to herself as she could. They moved to the bed, clinging to each other in desperation.

To Shannon, everything seemed to slow down, everything was sitting on her shoulders as an unbearable weight, waiting to crush her. The sound of her heart beating grew louder in her ears, only to be drowned out by faint cries coming from the park across the road and the feeling of Stella lifting her head from her shoulder in curiosity. The familiar voices of her colleagues bring a smile to her face.

"What is that?" asked Stella, looking up at Shannon.

"That would be the boys."

"Where?"

"Bryant Wood Park across the road." Something seemed to click in Shannon's mind. "The playground. He's hiding in the playground."

She could picture it in her head as clearly as she could remember a dream about Stella, its bright playful colours and steel beams holding everything in place. Sometimes when she had come home on a warm Saturday afternoon, she could remember seeing kids jumping up and down happily as they played. Now, it wasn't innocent. It now hid a monster.

She had barely got the words out of her mouth when Stella jumped up again and took off through the open door heading downstairs, Shannon only just catching her wrist as she reached the bottom landing. Several heads turned at the commotion on the stairs, the remaining forensic specialists double checking the evidence, the rest moving any loose equipment back to their rightful place in the vehicles.

"Stella, no. We wait here for Kerry."

"Shannon. He's out there. Now."

"He was," said Kerry, sighing roughly as she came back through the front door.

Stella looked disappointed.

"Let me go. This needs to end. Tonight!" exclaimed Stella, trying to yank her arm from Shannon's tightening grip.

"The boys have already handled it."

"What do you mean? What the hell did the boys do, Kerry? Huh?" Stella felt like the odd one out as her boss and her girlfriend shared a smile.

"They arrested him already," whispered Shannon, looking to her boss for confirmation as everything suddenly fell into place in her mind.

"Yeah, Lawson," said Kerry, answering Lawson through the comms pack she had on and nodding to Shannon. This was the first time either of them noticed the pack hanging from Kerry's jean pocket.

Stella's back straightened as she strained her ears to her Lawson's voice, Kerry's hand still holding her on the landing. She knew it was a lost cause, those ear pieces voiced the person on the other end to only Kerry.

"He's out in the-," started Kerry, but Stella was already gone.

The younger brunette stumbled through the door, pushing past the final forensic specialist that had blocking the entrance. Shannon sighed dejectedly as her girlfriend tried to sprint into the street for the second time that night before grudgingly following her out.

When Shannon finally stood shivering at least ten feet behind Stella, she could see Lawson leaning against the front passenger side door of TR1, and Josh standing next to him nursing a bloodied hand but smiling proudly in only a way Josh could. She noticed that Stella hadn't moved for several minutes, simply staring at the open back door of the four-wheel-drive, sizing up the man sitting handcuffed in the back seat with a rapidly swelling cheek and cut lip. He looked rather sour, unhappy with his current position.

The moment he spotted his victim, his excitement grew like a child's does on Christmas morning.

"Stella. Honey, tell them this is all just a misunderstanding. Please."

She simply gulped visibly, shook her head lightly before her movements turned almost violent and her eyes burned with anger and hatred and loathing, just a hint of fear. Shannon wasn't quite sure what had stunned her girlfriend into silence; the fact that her stalker had finally been arrested or that he was sitting in front of her, trying to reassure her that everything was okay.

Stone tried to move out of the car, only to be pulled back in by Michael.

"Back off! Don't make me tell you again!"

Stone glared at the young Senior Constable, before turning back to Stella with pleading eyes.

"Get rid of him," she whispered, close to crying.

Shannon tried to reach out to Stella, only to be shrugged off and left standing in the street, Kerry beside her and the boys climbing back into TR1, the last of the police vehicles disappearing nearly twenty minutes before, just as the sun began to make its way into the world on the distant horizon.

"Hey Shan," called Josh lightly.

"What?"

"Looking good!"

His remark made Shannon smile for the first time in what felt like days, only for her smile to turn into a frown when she realised exactly how little she was wearing in front of her colleagues.

"See you at work," said Lawson, motioning for Christian to drive. TR1 turned a corner and was gone from her view. Kerry told her the same thing, and then suggested she check on Stella, who was under no circumstances was allowed to set foot on base.

Today wasn't going to be an easy day.

* * *

It had been a long hard day, especially when she was running on less than three hours sleep. Shannon tiredly tugged her boots off, wanting nothing more than to curl up with Stella in bed, who was in the offices amusing Kerry by actually finishing off paperwork. Too tired to care, she began stripping down, replacing her work shirt with a casual top, and her pants with a favourite pair of track suit pants; Stella's tracky pants.

Thirteen days ago, the Tactical Response Unit had arrested Stella's stalker, disgraced police officer Detective Sam Stone in the park across from Shannon's house. Stone had beaten her, followed her, called her, acted possessively and even after he was arrested, was one hundred percent confident that the young woman would take his side. Something about him had changed her girlfriend, and Shannon desperately wanted the fun-loving, care-free woman back. That probably wasn't going to happen until well after she had met the requirements with the therapist and was deemed fit for active duty.

Since his arrest, Shannon had grown increasingly frustrated, and not only emotionally, as Stella decided that she needed some space to organise her feelings and get her feet back on the ground, steady herself after the disruption to her life, by moving back into her apartment. Shannon had since had very little sleep with her girlfriend gone, after growing accustomed to the feeling of waking up to the younger woman. When Josh trumped into the locker room, he pulled the Senior Sergeant from her thoughts as she dropped her pair of thongs to the ground to slip on her feet.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, opening his locker for his plain clothes.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Want to go for a beer? Have a little catch up?"

"Yeah, sure. It feels like forever since we've hung out together. Just let me get changed."

"Alright. I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes. I need a shower."

"I'll probably be up in the office."

Josh nodded, smiled and left the locker room, slinging his town over his shoulder as he went. Reluctantly, Shannon trudged up to the office, feeling herself drawn in automatically at the sound of Stella's voice. She was laughing with Leon, something about spooning.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked playfully, letting herself be known.

They turned quickly as if they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Nothing!"

"You know what, I don't think I would want to know."

"Probably not," laughed Stella.

Shannon whole-heartedly embraced the sensation of her girlfriend laughing again and sat in silence at the back of the offices against a desk as Leon played with camera footage, making them all laugh again, as she waited for Josh. When he reappeared, she commented.

"Okay, that was the quickest shower ever!"

"Well, I really want a beer, so come on."

"Where are you going?" asked Stella playfully.

"Pub. Gonna go have a 'd' and 'm' with Josh. Haven't had one in a while. You can take my car if you want. Keys are in my locker."

Stella nodded. "Alright, thanks. Call us later so I know you got home?"

"Of course. G'night guys," they both said, waving to their colleagues in the offices.

"Why is she giving you her car for?" asked Leon, a smirk sitting on his face. Stella punched him in the shoulder.

"Because she's my usual ride, and she's going out drinking."

"Right, so she spends all the petrol money just to come and pick you up from Fitzroy, when she lives in North Melbourne and you both work in Southbank? Seems like she's going arse about face by picking you up."

"Shut up!"

They laughed again and returned to their 'work'.

In Josh's old SUV, the one that could be beaten by Michael's postie bike according to Stella, Shannon leaned her head against the headrest, letting her eyes close shut as she was nearly struggling to keep them open. When they arrived at O'Malley's five minutes later, she walked in and ordered on autopilot, finding a booth in the back. She wasn't sure if she could sit on a stool or stand at a table.

"Are you okay? You've been very tired lately," he commented, taking a generous swallow of his drink.

"Yeah. I'm just not sleeping."

"Why not? And don't bullshit me."

Shannon eyed him knowingly before answering. It was going to be easier to simply tell him _most_ of the truth, while leaving several key facts out. "You know how I did that injury when I fell off the motorbike, saving Kronin and I stayed at Stel's?"

"Yeah."

"And you know how I only have one bed at my house?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, remembering the times when he had followed her home and spent the night.

"And you know I would never make Stella sleep on the couch, or give up my bed?"

"You're rambling," he smiled. "Get to the point, Shan."

"I guess I just got used to waking up next to Stella. All that time we spent hanging out, makes me think I took it for granted now that she moved back to her apartment."

Josh opened his mouth, slightly shocked at the intimacy of Shannon's admitted feelings and quickly noticed the little amount of alcohol left in Shannon's glass.

"And before you say anything, no, there is nothing going on between us."

"I wasn't going to say anything." He chuckled. In his mind, he said to himself, '_something is definitely going on between these two'_. She polished off her cup and asked the bartender for another. "Do you wanna slow down?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Because tonight, alcohol is the only way I can deal with certain things at the moment. I need a good night's sleep tonight."

"And you think, passing out drunk is going to give you a good night's sleep?"

"Yep." She borrowed Stella's habit of popping the 'p'.

"And one hell of a hangover," he commented.

"That I can sleep off tomorrow because we don't have work."

The beer that Shannon had ingested was taking quick effect and they had only been in the pub for half an hour. Mixed with her lack of sleep, it wouldn't take much alcohol to get her drunk; she was well on her way already.

"What certain things?" Josh asked. The one thing he knew about Shannon and alcohol, was that when she had the right amount, she would tell you anything.

"I have not had sex in nearly a year, and I am _soooo_ frustrated and drunk right now," she muttered, slurring just a little, slightly ashamed of the conversational topic.

Josh's beer came spraying onto the table as he coughed and spluttered. His eyes were as wide a dinner plates; he had thought that Shannon had a healthy sex life

"You haven't had sex in a year? As in twelve months? Fifty two weeks? Three hundred and sixty-five days?"

"No," she corrected him. "I haven't had sex in _nearly_ a year. In three weeks."

"Why not?" he joked, chuckling at the tiny correction.

"I was sick of meaningless sex. I wanted something more, so I took a vow of...of celibacy, you know, take a step back yada yada yada. Now I don't know why I decided to do it."

He picked up on the tense of her words; they were all past tense, and watched as she finished her sixth beer.

"What do you mean you wanted something more? Did you find someone?"

"Maybe," she answered with a sly smile.

"Who?" he asked.

"It's...," she paused for a second, her eyes half closed. "It's no one."

Josh eyed her for a moment, rolling the ideas that were flooding into his mind, trying to decide whether or not he should take advantage of her drunken state to convince her to tell him who she was dating. The idea of actually pushing her to tell him tempted him for a mere second before throwing the thought out the idea and getting out of the booth to pay the bartender, effectively cutting Shannon off, she was definitely gone for the night.

She had managed to finish six beers in less than ninety minutes, Josh only one. Stumbling over your feet and your words wasn't a good look for the well known police officer in the pub. Josh simply put an arm around her and mouthed 'long day' to George behind the bar before helping Shannon out to the car. She had Stella on her mind as she was half thrown into the passenger seat, wondering what she was doing at the time of the night before her mind was overwhelmed with drunk fuzziness.

Stella was curled up in bed and it wasn't even nine o'clock. Lights in her apartment were still on, since she had been home. She was afraid to sleep without them but she was determined to face her fears. He was in jail. He wasn't coming after her again. Her phone was resting on the bed as she watched it, waiting with a slight impatience. Shannon had promised to call.

She closed her eyes, with the intention of getting some rest, and moments later her phone vibrated softly against the bed letting her know she had a message.

'_I got home okay, talk to you in the morning.'_

Stella smiled. At least she knew Shannon was home.

* * *

**It's kind of crappy, I know. But let me know what you honestly think :)**


	13. The First Time

_**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! POSSIBLY CRAPPY CHAPTER BUT I THINK THE ENDING MAKES UP FOR IT. OH YEAH AND THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS GRAPHIC SEX...that blew my beta's head up. You have been warned.**_

Okay now that the warning is posted I can tell you all how proud I am of myself for writing 5500+ words today. I had a sudden motivation to finish this chapter off. You can all thank In A Rush for that. I aplogise for taking a long arse time in finishing this chapter. Sorry. My beta has also left for college and has very little free time to beta my writings, but that's okay. As long as you all ignore any mistakes :). PS It kinda goes from very little detail to a lot of detail once it hits the sex scene. I didn't read over so I hope it flows.

StellaLover6 - Thanks. They do rock. But what would you prefer, a long crappy chapter or a short awesometastic one?

HappyHereford - I probably speak to you later :P

In A Rush - awesome reviews as always. No worries with making your week better, hope this helps too. PS thanks for the encouragement and motivation over the weekend just gone.

LadyBelle84 - Thank you, hope you enjoy this chapter.

K - hope you're lurking on the site tonight.

Vicky - I never left, I just got bored haha.

Thanks for the reviews. I'm over 50 now. Let's hope we can get some more yeah? Enjoy.

* * *

Stella had a feeling it was going to be a very long shift. They had started at six am and it was barely three hours into their first twelve hour rotation for the week. Her girlfriend was bickering from the backseat with her boss who was sitting next to her about the Ethical Standards Division asking the TR officers questions. So far, only Kerry had been targeted for interrogation and the girls were waiting for their turn. Even though they had no idea why they were being talked too.

"So Ethical Standards paid us a visit. Know anything about that Lawson?" asked Shannon from the backseat of TR1. If ESD was poking around it generally meant that someone was under strong scrutiny, she just hoped that it wasn't herself or Stella that were the ones being watched.

"Nothing you two need to worry about," said Lawson, calmly brushing off the question.

Stella looked at Shannon in the rear view mirror, giving her a look that clearly said 'yeah, right'.

"Are they looking at the whole squad?" asked Stella, risking taking her eyes of the road for a quick glance at Lawson. Her voice was scratchy as she spoke, Stella was just getting over a cold Shannon had given her.

Her question just confirmed her thoughts that Stella was thinking along the same lines. If ESD busted them for their relationship, they would be split up. Tactical Response would possibly be suspended from active duty and under investigation. In summary, Tactical Response would most likely cease to exist in the police force.

"No," Lawson answered curtly.

"What, so it's just Kerry?" asked Stella, looking at him again.

He kept silent.

"It's to do with the drug bust isn't it?" suggested Shannon. Lawson gave her a look. "What? Word gets about Lawson, and I've got mates in drug bust too."

"And ESD doesn't question someone for six hours about nothing."

"Well, whatever you think you know, keep it to yourself. Drive Stella!"

"You always do this," accused Shannon.

"I do what?"

"Go into your shell when there's a problem," she said, earning a small smirk from Stella.

"Thank you Shannon. Point taken alright." Tired screeched in front of their car as Stella drove into intersection and a worn silver Volvo skidded to a halt, a cyclist heavily hitting the bonnet. "Hey."

Stella pulled the car into park and jumped out, leaving her door wide open. Shannon shook her head at her girlfriend; Stella was always doing that.

"Are you right?" she yelled to the cyclist as she made her way over.

"Are you okay?" asked Lawson just as the cyclist opened the driver's side door of the car to launch an attack on the driver.

There was nearly another accident as Shannon braced herself for the impact while Lawson and Stella separated the driver and the cyclist from killing each other. "Leon, get us some GD's down here and an ambulance."

Audrey's voice alerted Shannon to the fault with the intersections lights. She groaned before looking in all directions and trudging out into the middle. She hated playing the traffic cop.

"Shut up, Stella," she warned into her microphone as she caught her girlfriend laughing while tending to the cyclist. She was finally called off traffic duty when a general duties police car rolled in ten minutes later.

"Shannon you can talk to the bikie, and Stella you get Petrol Head over there."

Lawson ordered them to their jobs before heading to the other officers to instruct them on what to do.

"I want to press charges," the driver said.

Stella brushed him off as Lawson finished with the General Duties officers. "How's he going?"

"He's alright. He just wants to charge the cyclist with something."

Her voice crackled and Lawson told her to stay with the driver as he walked over to Shannon. The Senior Sergeant watched the cyclist calmly. She had been hit by a car and was still walking, so Shannon just hoped that she wouldn't have to resort to her and Stella performing first aid if she fainted.

It wasn't until Lawson started threatening to arrest both of them when things got a little heated that everything began to get serious. Leon and Audrey had managed to discover that Traffic Control had no idea why the lights were malfunctioning and that there were backlogs of calls for the ambulance so TR1 was going to have to wait.

"So," said Lawson. "Some tool is recording this live?"

"Not just recording them. He's creating them. He put a virus into the Traffic Controls mainframe to effect these light and keep them green."

"Traffic Control has no idea how?"

"Nope."

"Alright Lawson, you get the uniforms set up there and wait for the ambulance. First chance you get I want you back here."

"Yeah, alright Kerry."

Shannon sneaked a look at Stella and mouthed 'drug-bust' when their boss turned his back. Stella simply nodded.

"Hey guys, the same guy who just messed with the lights is messing with a lift in the city. Josh is taking care of it."

"Thanks, Leon."

TR1 had to wait over an hour for the ambulance to finally arrive before they could officially hand off the case and head back to base. Stella had just pulled the car into the garage when Shannon spoke.

"Lawson."

"Not a word Shannon."

And what a surprise it was to see Kerry walking towards them from the offices.

"Just, ahh, give me half an hour."

"Go and annoy Leon, girls."

Stella watched after them for a moment, but her attention shifted when she felt a hand sit comfortably in the back pocket of her standard issue pants, Shannon's hand squeezing gently.

"Just think of what we could do in half an hour."

Stella's mind drifted. "I can think of quite a few things, but they all involve you breaking your vow."

"Aww, shucks!" Shannon smiled playfully and pulled Stella towards the showers; there was time for at least two hickeys.

Fifteen minutes later Shannon was finishing buttoning and zipping up her vest looking slightly dazed but happy, while Stella was pulling back the collar of Shannon's shirt to admire her handiwork.

"They had better not be able to see that."

"Leon has x-ray vision when it comes to this sort of thing."

Shannon laughed and followed Stella out to Leon and Audrey's desks to find out what information they had.

"Where have you two been?"

"What do you mean?" asked Stella, stopping in the doorway with an expression on her face that reminded Audrey of a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Shannon bumped into her back, looking up slightly confused as to why Stella had stopped.

"I saw Lawson go upstairs with the ESD guy fifteen minutes ago. Where have you two been?"

"Girl talk in the kitchen," said Shannon, scratching her neck lightly as she pushed past Stella to lean against the edge of a desk. "So what have you two found out about this?"

"They're calling themselves 'The Sprawl'. There's stuff here about missing the perceptions, cutting footage into false imagery," answered Audrey, Stella leaning over her shoulder to read the computer screen as she played with one of Leon's many hacky sacks.

"What, they're doing this on purpose?"

"Yeah."

"How is Josh going?" Shannon asked.

"They're setting up to get the woman out of the elevator."

"Why are they doing this?" asked Shannon.

"People who live their lives via the internet have no soul?" offered the young intelligence officer.

"Aww ease up Audrey."

Stella smirked at Leon's response and Shannon turned back to the main screens on the back wall.

"What? You're all alienated socially."

"Hey, the people who are doing this are doing the wrong thing but you can't just write off all hackers."

"Yes, I can," she responded quietly.

"Hackers have provided the world with freedom of information-"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure the woman in the elevator is loving that," Stella interrupted sarcastically.

"Can we stop them?" asked Shannon, her eyes still on the screen.

Leon looked gobsmacked. "I'm trying to stop them now."

"Don't you have to locate an IP address or something?" asked Stella.

"Can't we perhaps just step back?"

"Hey, guys, guys, give him some space," ordered Kerry.

Leon muttered a thank you, and Kerry brushed Shannon off when she asked about why ESD was poking around. As the two girls headed towards the kitchen for a quick coffee before Lawson came back, Stella spoke quietly.

"We should have stayed in the bathroom."

"Oi! Let's go!" Lawson demanded.

Thankfully, neither of them had actually started making their coffees when Lawson came back out as briskly walked back to the car. The next half an hour was spent in silence as they waited for news about Josh's task and the wellbeing of the woman from the lift. Leon and Audrey were working as fast as they could to either shut down the website or find out who was creating these situations.

As they argued about Lawson keeping information from the team, and Kerry digging herself into a hole, Leon gave some information over the comms about a local hacker with a rather large reputation for getting into secure sites.

When TR1 stormed into the internet cafe, a dark, dank hole in the wall with very little lighting coming from the computer screens, the TR team members felt rather embarrassed when they discovered at they had interrupted an international computer game, and not the hackers they were actually looking for.

The hacker TR1 had originally been looking for in the cafe was found in the toilets out the back, dumping a load of weed. After Lawson had a brief go at Leon, their next step was figured out: the hacker was going to help them remove from software to help find the real hackers. Stella began to feel a little guilty for having a small go at Leon earlier. He was really getting it today.

Although they were nervous, Shannon was silently laughing at the idea of Lawson trying to handle a computer in a way that Leon needed. Sure, she wasn't very computer literate, but she was positive that she or Stella could get it done faster that Lawson.

"Lawson, is that kid giving you anything?" asked Kerry.

"He says he knows nothing."

"We make a decision is you believe him or not. There's going to be a major collision at a railway intersection."

"What?"

"These morons responsible for all this have picked another target. It's a railway intersection and Audrey is trying to locate it now."

"Lawson, I've narrowed down the search area to Fed Square."

"Fed Square? Leon, you know how big that is right? Well what am I looking for?"

"Anyone with a laptop."

Stella laughed as she moved to put back their equipment in the boot, before hopping into the driver's seat.

"And that's all you're going to give me?" Lawson asked.

"Alright, fine. I'm the bad guy today."

"Fed Square, Stel."

"Yeah, I know Lawson. I did hear Leon," replied the Senior Constable before speeding out of the alley and back into the city's civic centre.

Moments later and Stella skidded to a halt on the grass near the back steps to Federation Square. Shannon and Lawson took to the stairs quickly while Stella took the long way around the side, and it became obviously that Lawson had a thing about computers when he smashed a possible suspects laptop to pieces.

"A little unethical," muttered Shannon. They didn't need ESD hassling them for something else.

"Yeah, well. I hate computers."

Of all the laptops being used by everyday people at Federation Square, not one of them had anything to do with The Sprawl. As they collected the computers, the owner of the smashed computer began ranting about police brutality and wanting to press charges. He was silenced with a stern 'quiet' from Shannon.

The pile quickly grew and the trio were faced with a dozen or so angry people wanting to know why their laptops had been taken away by police officers.

"Do you want me to start making arrests?"

"Nah. Just take all of their information and confiscate those laptops. It'll take weeks to get all of the information from them," said Kerry.

"I wasn't being rude about Kerry's son before," Shannon said to Lawson fifteen minutes later as they carried the confiscated laptops back to the TR car.

"Yes you were, you called him a junkie."

"He is! She's covering for him."

"Hey listen. You don't know that."

"Well, I do actually. It's not about that anyway."

"Well, what then?" he asked, jumping the last two steps to keep up with Shannon.

"I am a Senior Sergeant Lawson, and I am still sitting in the backseat."

"So what? You want your own car? You want TR3?"

"Maybe," said Shannon, wishing that it was a possibility, but knowing that in reality it wouldn't happen. She wouldn't have her own car unless Tactical Response received more money grants, or either Josh or Lawson stepped down from TR.

"You sure this is a work thing?"

"Yeah. What do you mean?" _'You're playing a dangerous game, Lawson. Don't even think of bringing Stella into this.'_

"Well, you've been in this whole change of life thing, haven't you? No booze, no sex. Why would you do that?"

"I'm waiting."

"For what? You've already found Stella," he joked. "Ah, you're training for a husband. If you can tame Stella, you can tame anyone."

"You better hope she didn't hear you say that. And I am so not training for a husband."

"Well, what? Cause you got the shits. Tell me what it is. Tell me! What is it?"

"You want to know?"

"Yes."

"I want to have hot, meaningful sex that makes me sweat and burn with someone I adore who adores me back. That lasts for a really long time."

Stella came down the stairs carrying the last of the laptops, and her ears perked when she heard 'sex' come from Shannon.

"What, like ten minutes?"

"If you count in minutes Lawson, you fail," said the Senior Constable, dropping the stack of computer's into his arms, giving Shannon and big smile and a wink as she got into the driver's seat. "Oh, and by the way, it's none of your business if she tames me."

Shannon laughed out loud as she followed Stella to get into the car. Lawson stood there for a moment or two thinking heavily before sighing and getting into the passenger's seat.

* * *

Today was the day Andrew Kronin was going to be trialled for his crimes. Lawson had planned it so that he and TR1 were in the area that morning, and were able to see the verdict. His obsession was back. As they ridded themselves of their weapons and comms packs into the strong box in the boot, Christian took the keys while giving Michael a look of 'I'm not your slave.'

Today was also the day that marked the end of Shannon's one year celibacy vow. Shannon had been teasing Stella late the night before, and now the brunette was sleeping peacefully in the back seat of TR2. As Josh's eyes followed an unmarked police car on the side of the road, he saw Stella in the back with her head against the window.

"Have a look," he muttered to Shannon who was driving.

Her eyes flickered to the rear view mirror and she smiled at her achievement. Josh unzipped a front pocket on his vest and produced a pair of flex-cuffs, turning in his seat to attached Stella's left wrist to the back grate. Shannon scoffed; Stella wasn't going to like this.

"Go."

"Hang on," she said, turning into a side avenue from the main street. It probably wasn't a good idea to hit the brakes heavily in the middle of a busy highway.

When she finally slammed her foot down, Shannon and Josh jumped out of the car yelling at the top of their voices, "Police, get out of the car! Put your hands up!"

Stella jerked awake at the sound of their voices, and quickly moved to make chase, opening her door. She was stopped by her seatbelt. When she managed to release her belt from its clasp, there was a quick sharp pain in her left wrist. Her head turned so fast that she nearly gave herself whiplash.

"Oh!"

Stella slumped in her seat the moment she realised it was a prank.

"You okay, Stel?" asked Shannon, letting out a little giggle. Even though Stella was mad, she could felt her anger chip away just slightly. It was official: Shannon's giggle was Stella's weakness.

Stella pulled out her wire cutter's from her pocket one handed and cut herself free. "Yep. Very funny Shannon and Josh."

"Ah that's gold," sighed Josh, seating himself back in the car.

"Sleeping on the job, Stel. Not a good look."

"This is all your fault!"

Josh looked around at Stella.

"How is this my fault?" she asked playfully, one eyebrow raised.

"I'll give you three guesses."

"Does this have anything to do with that celibacy vow?" asked Josh, wiggling his finger between the two.

Both woman froze, Shannon in the process of turning the key in the ignition and Stella as she replaced her cutters back in her vest.

"What makes you think that?" asked Shannon, her momentary shock wearing off as the engine roared to life.

"How'd you even know about the celibacy vow?" Stella inquired. Shannon would have mentioned it to Stella if she had told anyone else about her vow. She gave it until the end of the day until the rest of the team knew, if they didn't already.

"You remember when we went for that beer last week?"

"Yeah," answered Stella.

"No," said Shannon, as she reversed back into the street to turn back onto the highway.

"That's because you were drunk," Josh deadpanned and simply shifted to face Stella. "She got smashed."

"Ah really?"

"Apparently."

They spent a few minutes in silence, their attention shifting to the traffic around them.

"Hey Josh?"

"What?"

"What would Shannon's vow have to do with me?"

"Umm..." Josh had suspicions that were probably more possible than Leon's ideas, about the level of Shannon and Stella's relationship. But the idea of telling both women his thoughts sounded like a bad idea. They could be scary sometimes, and he knew not to piss them off.

Thankfully, Leon managed to save Josh when he announced that Andrew Kronin had escaped custody on his was to his trial, and the stolen car he and his accomplices had used to get away had been found in an alley next to a storage facility. As they pulled up, Stella was ready this time when she unholstered her weapon in synchronisation with Josh. Both of them provided cover as Shannon parked the car.

The trio had been there for less than thirty seconds, cleared immediate area and concluded that the car was still warm when they heard shots being fired from inside the building.

"Lawson, we're going to need back up at the storage facility," said Josh over his comms.

"Yeah, yeah, on our way."

Stella was outside questioning the front desk about anyone who had come through while Shannon and Josh began clearing the inside of the building.

It didn't take them long to find two offenders, one of whom they had arrested when Kronin kidnapped Shannon. A third man found them around the corner near an open storage locker door with a gunshot wound.

"Take them, I got this guy," ordered Josh before yelling orders at the wounded man.

Shannon took off through the maze of storage lockers. "Stel, got two offenders coming out, possibly armed."

"Yeah, copy that."

They met in the parking lot looking confused. "Where'd they go?"

"I don't know. They didn't come out this way," explained Stella, turning to run back towards the street in hopes of seeing their car speed away.

TR1 arrived when Stella was drinking from Shannon's drink bottle, having taken it from her girlfriend when she offered. TR2's mobile rang and Shannon moved to answer it. Michael and Christian were checking out the storage locker while Lawson came to discuss the situation with Josh.

"Josh! Lawson!"

"Yeah?"

"It's Kerry."

They spent the next few moments talking with Kerry and Leon about the security camera footage. Shannon and Stella were watching the ambulance officers load the injured man into the back of the ambulance. The Senior Sergeant sat next to her girlfriend in the boot of TR1.

"So much for no booze."

"Bite me, Stel."

"Oh I will. Don't you worry." The amount of seriousness Stella was able to have when she said that astounded Shannon.

"It wouldn't have been the first time I've had a drink since I made my vow. We've had drinks."

"And you didn't tell me you told Josh about your vow because...?"

"Because I can't remember. I can remember anything I said or did from the time I left base until I woke up the next morning. You knew I was going for a drink with Josh. It's not like I cheated on you."

"Yeah, but I didn't know you got absolutely totalled. How can you not remember? You sent me a text message when you got home," said Stella.

"No, I didn't."

"Ah, yeah, you did." The brunette pulled out her phone from her pocket and sifted through her sent messages. Within a matter of seconds she found the text message that had been sent to Stella.

"I didn't send that."

"Well, then who did?"

Stella waited with raised eyebrows.

"Josh."

"Josh?"

"Well, how else can you explain a text I didn't send getting sent from my phone?" she asked.

"Alright, fair point." And then something clicked in Stella's mind. "Wait you said you can't remember anything from that night?"

"Yes, that is what I said."

"Then you don't know if you told Josh about us. He already admitted to you being so blind that you told him about your vow. That was probably what he was talking about earlier."

"Shit!" exclaimed Shannon. "Let's just hope he doesn't tell anyone. We can't ask him if he knows without admitting it."

"Let's go!" ordered Josh, effectively ending their conversation.

Stella winced as she shut the boot and Shannon hopped in the driver's seat again as TR2 drove away from the storage facility toward Kronin's wife's house. Unfortunately, Kronin's wife Lily lived on the other side of the city in the eastern suburbs and Kronin himself already had a head start. Knowing that any sign of police interference would trigger a crazy response from the criminal, Shannon parked the car two blocks away under Josh's instructions. They basically had to sprint the remaining distance to catch up.

Being the smallest and lowest ranked of the group, Stella was the one nominated to jump the seven foot fence. She inwardly swore when the heel of her boot hit the steel loudly. A moment later, the back gate was open and Josh and Shannon shuffled in quietly.

They silently communicated and entered the house calmly. This was the part of the job that Shannon loved. It was hands on; she actually got to do the dirty work. There was a comfortable pattern to follow in searching a house. Josh stood guard over Lily as the two women cleared the bottom level of the house.

"Stel," Shannon whispered into their comms. The bottom level was clear, they were ready to search the second level of the hosue.

Stella took the lead up the stairs, covering the top landing as Shannon went past. They found Kronin's son Jason in his bedroom playing an x-box game.

"Is there anyone else is the house?" Stella asked, hiding her gun just behind her. The boy nervously shook his head no.

"Are you winning?" Shannon asked, hoping to calm him down slightly. He was still nervous when he nodded shakily.

Shannon continued back downstairs, telling Josh that the house was clear. Josh assigned them to babysitting duty in case Kronin showed up. Stella was left as a guard to Jason's room. Lily was sitting on the couch as Josh and Shannon talked to her. It wasn't until she asked for Jason to come downstairs that Stella realised he'd done a runner.

"Guy's he's bolted. He's gone out the window." She looked over the edge of the balcony to see Jason wheeling his bike along the decking.

"Shit," muttered Shannon as she took off out the back door, sprinting around the corner to see Jason riding off up the street. Stella was a moment behind her. "Get the car. Get the car."

"Thank God," said Stella, running back to the car two blocks down the road. She'd rather run back to the car and drive than run after an eleven year old on a bike. Who knows how far the kid could go. She caught up to Shannon easily enough, not far away from the house.

"Lose him, Stel?" asked Shannon playfully.

"I don't see you with him."

And they ran faster towards the local park. It was more like a forest as the girls tried to find Jason. It was a good ten minutes before either of them saw him again.

"Shannon, I got him."

She hid behind a large tree, Stella bending over to see past the low canopy of branches. Shannon joined her a moment later, putting her hand on Stella's lower back just under the bottom of her vest and kneeling down.

"He's jumping his jacket."

"Like father like son," quoted Shannon. "Unbelievable. What is he, like eleven?"

She sounded shocked that an eleven year old knew techniques to avoid the cops. Then again, his father was a known criminal.

"Hey Josh, Lawson. We've got the kid. Do you want us to bring him back to the house?" asked Stella.

"He'd probably bolt as soon as we told him to stop," muttered Shannon.

"No, no. Just sit back. He might lead you to Kronin."

"Okay, your call." This wasn't the first time anyone of the Tactical Response team members disagreed with Lawson's decisions. "So what? We're going to use an eleven year old kid as bait?"

Shannon shrugged. "Got a better idea?"

They followed the kid for nearly a kilometre to another brush similar to the one where he had dumped his jacket. Jason pulled out a small spade and began digging away.

"He brought his own spade. He's a regular boy scout," joked Stella.

"Hey Stel?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think the chances are of Josh telling the boys about my vow?"

"Pretty high."

"Shit."

Josh arrived a minute later. "How's it going?

"Has it occurred to anyone that the kid could be a distraction?" asked Shannon.

"He's all we've got."

"I gotta say, this kid is consistent," said Stella.

"You sound like Christian when he talks about one of his kids," said Josh, earning a quiet laugh from Shannon. "Lawson, the kid's dug up a package. Could be money."

"Any sign of Kronin?'

"Nup. He's on the move, we're gonna track him on foot." The three officers followed Jason up to some concrete piping piled up waiting to be used. "He's gone into cover."

"Alright, get as close as you can."

Now it became a waiting game. It was guaranteed that Kronin would come to collect his son to escape with him on the yacht waiting at the marina. Zonneveldt was the crook TR1 had been following all day under the impression that Kronin would contact him at one stage. He was also the associate of Makrokanis, the mixed martial arts fighter Stella, Michael and Josh had arrested for trying to break into the safe of the meat packing building.

Lawson had left Michael and Christian at the entrance to the park, bringing TR1 around closer to TR2's current position.

"No one does anything until Kronin shows himself," he ordered. Michael and Christian had just announced that Kronin wasn't in the car as Zonneveldt drove past. "Hold positions until I give the word."

Stella risked a look at Shannon, silently asking what is Lawson thinking. Shannon shrugged back and pointed towards Jason who had realised someone had just arrived. And it wasn't his father. Zonneveldt was looking for Jason and quickly found him sitting on the concrete pipes. He was soon dragged towards the car.

"Lawson, are you gonna let this play out?" asked Shannon. She was up for using a kid as bait as long as they didn't get hurt. This wasn't going to end well.

"Wait for my call."

"Lawson!"

"Yeah. Go! Go! Go!"

Shannon, Josh and Stella emerged from the bushes just as Lawson skidded to a halt. Zonneveldt stood there like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, looking like he was contemplating running.

"It's alright. I'm unarmed," he announced, lowering himself to his knees.

"Where's Kronin?" demanded Lawson.

"I don't know."

"Well, where are you taking the kid?"

"He was just out running around. I thought I'd take him home. That's not a crime is it?" he asked, providing a very weak defence.

"It's called child abduction. Face down on the ground," instructed Shannon.

"Okay."

"Hand's behind your back," ordered Stella. Shannon watched with pride as she re re-holstered her Glock. "Face down on the ground. Face down!"

Unfortunately all four police officers forgot about Jason in the car. He was still attempting to run from the cops to get to his father, and started the engine. He drove off back the way Zonneveldt had come, his speed only increasing.

"Oh shit!" yelled Shannon. She was ready to follow Lawson and Josh, but she couldn't leave Stella alone with a suspect.

"Michael, Christian, the kids in the car and he's coming your way. Stay there!" ordered Lawson, running away towards where he had left Michael and Christian.

Ten minutes later and the boys came back into view, this time they were not alone. Christian was walking calmly beside them while Kronin was cuffed and being escorted down the road.

"What the hell happened?" asked Stella.

"Kid crashed the car, and daddy dearest came out of hiding," said Josh, as Kronin was placed into the back of TR1 with Zonneveldt as they waited for some uniformed officers to arrive for back up.

Shannon looked at her watch. Their shift was over. Now she had to look forward to an hour of paperwork before she could actually go home. Two hours later and Kronin had been handed off to the local precinct, her paperwork was completed and filed, and she had just finished buttoning up her white shirt underneath her leather jacket when she found herself being picked on by Leon and Christian in the locker room.

"Hey it's Saint Shannon herself," said Leon as he walked into the locker room.

"What?" she asked. She could hear Christian laughing.

"This whole no sex thing. It's pretty remarkable really. Although technically speaking, you have to be dead before you can be canonised."

"She's celibate now," suggested Christian. He continued after Leon said "Yeah." "That's pretty much dead."

"That's a good point actually," said Leon as Stella laughed.

"Stella!"

"Wasn't me," she said.

"You're going through a dry patch, Shan. Nothing to be ashamed of," sympathised the Islander.

"Alright, you've had your fun," she said.

"Alright, what's the story? Have you lost your mojo? Stel, Stel, back me up," said Leon.

Now Stella was caught in the middle. Not a good place when Leon was on one side and her girlfriend was on the other. Anything drastic and Leon would dig up anything and everything he could get his hands on to find out the history behind it. Then again, Shannon's celibacy vow had ended that morning.

Shannon challenged Leon's request. "Yeah, back me up Stella."

She hadn't been expecting Stella to kiss her in front of the boys but she wasn't going to deny it, especially when she herself had been wanting to do that all day. She could feel Stella's hands on either side of her head, holding her close. Leon and Christian had gone silent. When they finally pulled apart Shannon could only say one thing.

"Oh."

Stella pouted before placing one arm around Shannon's shoulder's and turning to face the boys. "I reckon her mojo is just fine, Leon."

Shannon tried to look embarrassed as to not give anything away, but couldn't help but smile with Stella at the two dumbstruck males. She giggled when Leon looked stupidly at Christian.

"I need beer," he said weakly.

"I need sleep," said Shannon.

"She's my ride," said Stella, raising her eyebrows suggestively at Leon.

"Hey Michael. Beer o'clock, you're buying," yelled Christian, dragging and muttering Leon out of the locker room towards the parking lot.

"You saw that right?" he asked, his voice fading as they got further away.

"Real subtle, Stel."

"I try."

"And how's that working for you?"

"Pretty good?" she asked.

"Let's go home," said Shannon, pulling Stella out of the locker rooms and yelling good night to Lawson and Kerry as they came out of the offices.

When Shannon pulled her car keys out of her bag halfway across the parking lot, Stella easily pried them from her hands. "I'm driving. Who's house?"

"Mine."

"Hungry?" Shannon asked as she took her keys back from Stella to open the front door.

"A little. Want to order pizza? Open some wine?"

"Sure, sound's good."

They argued over pizza toppings for nearly twenty minutes before they actually called to make their order. Once it arrived they settled themselves on the couch to watch an old episode of some TV show they had seen but couldn't remember the name of. Half of the wine bottle was gone when Shannon spoke.

"Stel, you know what today is right?"

"I'm quite aware of the date."

"Oh yeah, and what is it?"

"You're vow ended this morning, and before you ask: no I am not trying to get you drunk to have sex with you."

"What if I said I wanted to?"

"I'd ask you if you were sure. We've only been together for nearly five months so we don't have to. Not if you're not ready."

"Wow, Stella Dagostino saying she's happy to wait for sex? That's unheard of," joked Shannon.

"It's your first time in over a year, and most likely your first time with another woman. I don't want to rush it. It's just sex. I want it to be love with you."

Shannon's heart melted and she pressed her lips to Stella's, pouring as much emotion into it as she could. She took Stella's wine glass from her and sat it on the coffee table with the pizza box and the half empty bottle of wine. Her hands rested comfortably on Stella's jean clad thighs.

"I want to," said Shannon.

"It's a good thing we don't have work tomorrow because you are definitely going to be tired in the morning."

"Is that a promise?"

"Oh, yeah," said Stella cockily.

"Well, since we're making promises, I guess that I can promise to devour you."

"Oh really? Are you sure about that?"

"I haven't sex in over a year. I'm a little horny."

Stella laughed, pushing Shannon down onto the couch and flattened herself out against her girlfriend. Shannon exhaled shakily before claiming Stella's lips, her tongue begging for entrance into her girlfriend's mouth. Shannon didn't know what to expect from Stella: the brunette had been right when she said it was her first time with another woman. She was quickly distracted by the woman on top of her.

Shannon moaned loudly as Stella sucked on her pulse point and arched up off the couch, desperate for more friction, for more Stella. She was sexually frustrated and her girlfriend was teasing her beyond the point of no return. Stella's fingers had been ghosting over whatever skin they could reach as the two kissed on the couch.

"Stel," she breathed, and Stella leant back for a moment. "Let's go upstairs."

They were both slightly out of breath; Shannon's shirt was crinkled from being scrunched up under Stella's hands as they reached for the skin her eyes couldn't see.

"Are you sure?"

Shannon nodded and climbed off the couch. She took the brunette's hand, leading her up the stairs. There was definitely no going back, now that they had started.

The blinds in Shannon's bedroom were open, letting the moonlight flood in and providing slivers of light for the two women to be able to see each other. Stella walked Shannon backwards into the room, hands on her hips. Shannon bit her lip.

Stella gulped and pulled Shannon in for a passionate kiss, lips and tongues battling for a gentle dominance until oxygen became an issue. Their foreheads bumped softly and Stella's hands finally reached for the buttons on Shannon's shirt, making quick work of them and leaving it to hang open.

Her fingers were warm as they moved from Shannon's neck to her shoulders, pushing the previously crisp white shirt to the floor, leaving the older woman standing in her bra.

Stella felt as if the wind had been knocked from her lungs as she took in the sight of her semi naked girlfriend. Sure she had seen it before, but this time is was just...different.

They were moving too slow. Shannon was not so nervous, all of a sudden and took control, pulling Stella to the bed and letting her fall with a soft thump against the mattress. Quickly, she straddled Stella, reclaiming her lips.

"Take this off," she mumbled, straightening up only to fumble in pulling the thin fabric over Stella's head.

There was a groan of dissatisfaction as Stella's cool hands met Shannon's ribs, and her lips came in contact dangerously low on her stomach. That wasn't quite where she wanted those hands or lips to be.

An easy push and Stella flipped them, landing with a thigh sitting perfectly in between Shannon's, providing the smallest amount of friction. Shannon arched again, half bucking her hips in a desperate plea for more pressure.

"You're killing me," Shannon panted in Stella's ear as the younger woman ran her tongue through the valley between her breasts, letting her hands brush over the sensitive, covered nipples. There was a loud gasp as Stella sank her teeth lightly into Shannon's left breast.

Stella was lowering her hands to unzip the jeans covering Shannon's legs and as she balanced herself on her knees, she could feel nimble fingers working on her own belt and zipper. A wicked grin and Stella pushed Shannon back to the bed, moving to pull the jeans off.

Shannon let Stella strip the denim from her legs, lifting her hips from the bed. She could feel herself become wetter and her desire growing as each item of clothing was removed from her body. As Shannon worked on ridding Stella of her pants, hands and lips continued to roam her body until she flung the offending item across the room and returned her lips to Stella's.

"Are you sure?" asked the brunette again, pausing to lean her forehead against Shannon's.

Stella had one hand over Shannon's bra clasp, hesitating as if it would be the point of no return. Stella knew that if she removed the black cotton material, then she wouldn't be able to control herself.

Shannon wasn't going to stop regardless, her self-control going out the window possibly with her jeans. She nodded eagerly trying to settle her breathing just a little.

"Just...go slow?"

"Okay."

Stella unclipped the clasp as she took in every bit of Shannon that she could. The bra slipped from her fingers to the floor as Stella lowered her eyes to Shannon's breasts, captivated. Through natural instinct, Shannon moved to cover herself; it had been a long time since anyone had actually _seen_ her.

"You are so beautiful."

Stella reached out tentatively to cup one breast, tweaking the nipple as she went. She received a whimper in return and Shannon's eyes slid shut. Shannon's level of desire increased every time Stella pinched the flesh softly. Stella's increased when she felt the excitement float off of the woman beneath her fingers.

Shannon pulled them together for a passionate kiss, revelling in the skin on skin contact. She had to force herself to focus on the task of removing Stella's jeans. The moment her pants were removed, Stella pushed them back onto the bed, pinning Shannon's hands against the pillows and settling herself on top of her girlfriend.

As she kissed her way down Shannon's neck tenderly, the pressure of her hands holding down Shannon's gradually decreased until the older woman was able to run both hands across Stella's back. The brunette could feel fire and pain and pleasure all at once as Shannon's fingers scraped across the skin of her back, no doubt leaving marks.

Stella hissed loudly at the sudden stinging sensation flittering through her muscles and up her spine, but continued her journey. She had one hand on the underside of Shannon's knee, pressing herself into Shannon's centre, making her groan. Stella took one nipple into her mouth, sucking gently. Her opposite hand drifted casually up Shannon's thigh.

"Stel, stop teasing," Shannon whined in between breaths. Stella's hand was taking a lifetime to get to where Shannon needed it. Shannon could feel her core clench powerfully, achingly.

"I'm going to make you feel amazing."

Fingers reached the edge of the material of Shannon's underwear and Stella sat up on her knees to be able to pull them off. As soon as they were gone, her hand was skating through the trimmed curls.

"Fuck, you're so wet, baby."

Stella's mouth left Shannon's breast and travelled across the plain of her stomach, her thumb pressing lightly up and down her clit. Shannon shuddered and was close to begging for release. Her breathing was laboured, and Stella enjoyed the pull of Shannon's hands in her hair. She murmured a sound of satisfaction when she heard Shannon's panting voice.

"Stel, please."

"Please, what?" smirked Stella, and her tongue slowed its journey south.

"Don't stop," she begged, rolling her hips.

"My pleasure."

Stella fingers began to stoke harder before she entered Shannon, building up to her climax. Her fingers circled, before her tongue began to swirl. Shannon's arousal glistened and Stella pushed two fingers in easily. Her girlfriend cried out weakly and rocked her hips, trying to increase the speed of the fingers within her.

Stella could feel the muscles clench around her fingers, but her pace remained steady, not pushing in too far. She wasn't going to give; she was going to keep control. Shannon's breathing was becoming louder and Stella could feel herself throbbing painfully.

"Stella," panted Shannon in a warning tone. Her whole body was arching into Stella who only continued in her teasing. "Oh, God. Harder."

Whatever control Stella had disappeared at the sound of Shannon's throaty demand, and she surrendered. Stella was thrusting deeper, hitting that spot for Shannon before adding another finger. Another groan and Stella began sucking on Shannon's clit, the speed of her hand increasing.

Shannon's hips were lifting off of the bed rhythmically as Stella's hand brought her closer to the edge, harder and faster with each thrust. A cool sweat had covered both of their bodies and Stella's hand was able to glide up Shannon's body, kneading her breasts.

"Just a bit faster. A little harder."

Stella did as she was told, and sucked the hot nub roughly, slipping her fingers in and out with increasing speed. The muscles around her fingers were getting tighter; Shannon was getting close. There was a long groan from the woman under her and Shannon began to whimper. The strong muscles in Stella's arm were beginning to sear.

"Stel...fuck, Stella...oh God...Stella!"

With a few more thrusts and the curl of Stella's fingers, Shannon's eyes snapped open; her whole body burned with satisfaction, the tightness that had coiled throughout her body suddenly sprang loose. Fireworks were going off behind her eyes, and she shuddered violently. Stella slowed her pace so that her girlfriend could ride out the wave of pleasure for as long as possible, lapping up the cum that been released onto her hand. Her hips bucked gently and she let out a shaky breath.

As she licked her fingers and lips, Stella pulled herself to lay half on top of Shannon, resting a hand over her hip and pressing feather light kisses across the older woman's sweat covered shoulder. Shannon still had one hand in Stella's hair.

When the younger woman kissed her a moment later, she could taste herself on Stella's lips. This only made Shannon hungry for Stella and as soon as she caught her breath, she straddled the brunette lightly, smiling as she went.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey, yourself. Feel better?" asked Stella, smirking as she felt the sticky wetness touch her thigh.

"Definitely. Thank you," confirmed Shannon, pressing a hungry kiss to Stella's lips. "You're still wearing some clothes."

"Yes, I am. What are you going to about it?" challenged Stella.

She was met with a ravenous look and Shannon quickly went about removing Stella's bra, licking her lips at the sight before her. Stella was leaning back on her elbows, supple breasts waiting to be touched, nipples hardening under Shannon's nimble fingers. Shannon's hot mouth engulfed her breasts and Stella's head lulled back. Her senses were suddenly overwhelmed when Shannon's finger touched her through her underwear.

Shannon pressed the heel of her palm against Stella's clit and felt the wetness soak through the thin material. Stella tried to push herself up into Shannon, but the older woman pulled away slightly. Shannon released Stella's nipple from her mouth with a wet pop and reclaimed her lips, her hand digging in gently. Stella hummed with desire and felt her arousal climbing.

Shannon leaned back and pulled Stella's underwear down her legs, indulging in the feeling of Stella's arousal covering her thigh as she settled herself back down. She kissed Stella, forcing her tongue into her mouth as she swiftly entered her girlfriend, rotating her fingers slightly. Stella shivered openly and broke away from Shannon, let out a strangled cry.

"Ahh...Shan."

Stella wrapped one arm around Shannon's shoulders, holding the older woman against herself. Her eyes closed tightly and she bit her lip roughly enough to draw blood.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she panted in Shannon's ear. Shannon's fingers retracted carefully. "You just took me by surprise is all."

Shannon was able to find her rhythm quickly, steady and slow, purposeful strokes. Stella's vaginal muscles clamped strongly on Shannon's fingers every time Stella's grip tightened around her shoulders. With every thrust came a sound somewhere in between 'mmmm' and 'ohh'. Stella was growing closer to her climax, beginning to buck her hips wildly.

She muttered Shannon's name through a clenched jaw, and her hand slipped between Shannon's legs once again, penetrating smoothly and earning a few quick breaths against her ear.

Their bodies began to move in sync, Shannon's level of arousal catching up to Stella's rapidly as fingers thrusted and hips rolled and breasts brushed against each other. Their breathing was quick and deep, yet laboured and unpredictable

"Shan...go deeper."

The simple command was not taken lightly and Shannon's fingers pushed against the tense muscles to hit Stella's g-spot. The younger woman's eyes widened at the sensation and continued to ride her girlfriend's fingers towards pleasure. Their tongues had entwined in a battle for dominance as both hands simultaneously sped up, going fast and harder.

Stella had some trouble to keep her fingers going steady as Shannon's thumb flickered across her swollen and sensitive nub, her body starting to shake. Stella came, her scream echoing off the walls, sending Shannon plummeting over the edge for the second time. They cried out in bliss together, fingers slowing down to stretch out the sensations.

Stella pulled her fingers out with a wet pop several long moments later, wiping them clean on the bed sheets. When Shannon finally collapsed on Stella, the younger woman was still twitching; Shannon had yet to remove her fingers that were still stroking lightly. The older woman slid herself down Stella's body tiredly towards her girlfriend's sex.

As Shannon moved down, Stella's free hand that had been around Shannon's shoulders, clung to her girlfriends shoulder. Hesitantly, Shannon ran her tongue up and down the length of Stella's clit.

There was a sharp intake of breath. "Oh, my God."

Stella hadn't been expecting the contact so soon after her first orgasm, and her fingernails dug into her shoulder harshly as an instant reaction. She jerked into Shannon's mouth. It only took very few strokes of Shannon's tongue for Stella to come undone again, her hands gripping at the messy sheets, her eyes shut tight.

As Shannon sidled up back up to Stella, she was still shaking.

"Fuck me."

"I just did," retorted Shannon, leaning her hand on her hand, her free arm draped casually across Stella's stomach.

Stella laughed lightly and looked to Shannon out of the corner of her eye. A tender kiss was shared.

"I love you," whispered Shannon, raking some sweaty hair from Stella's forehead.

"I love you, too."

There were a few more kisses, tender and soft and gentle before turning hungry and lustful full of desire. Within seconds they were back at the beginning, with one woman straddling the other.

* * *

Please go easy for reviewing this chapter. This was my first sex scene. Thanks guys!


	14. The Bush Exercise

**OKAY, this is officially the longest chapter I've ever written. Once again please ignore the mistakes. I've been drinking XD and listening to Glee. It's a guilty pleasure I can't help it. AND OMG. Up to 60 reviews. Compared to other fandoms it's not a whole lot but I thank those of you who have commented and I base that on the fact that Rush is not a large fandom. PS Definately Unbeta'd**

**HappyHereford - told you I'd update tonight didn't I?**

**StellaLover6 - hope this is up to your standards**

**LadyBelle84 - thanks. don't you worry. they did.**

**In A Rush - I wrote most of this in the last two days and even got sent to be because I was up at 1am. Parents. Believe me I hope this impresses you :P**

**anon - thanks**

**K - hope your lurking tonight**

**alina grech - thanks for the criticism even though I do explain that I don't beta my stuff and beither does my beta :P. I have a weird habit, I can't beta my own stuff. I hate reading over it. Hope there aren't too many in this one.**

**hiddendesires85 - yeah i know. I thought I should at least have one night of physical love between them**

**Choeyfan88 - more.**

**Please Review. Love ya**

* * *

Shannon was the first to wake the next morning with a mind full of fog. When a heavy boom rolled overhead, the fog cleared almost instantly and she was able to take in the overwhelming sensations flooding her senses. Her muscles groaned in protest when she moved to rub the last webs of sleep from her eyes. She shuffled and shifted and that familiar throbbing between her legs was still there, reminding her in jaded memories of what had happened the night before. Shannon felt like she had a hangover but without the one-man marching band playing in her head and instead of drinking alcohol it was like she had overdosed on Stella.

With a glance past her sleeping girlfriend, Shannon glanced at the clock and was shocked when she realised that she had only been asleep for three hours. She felt oddly refreshed as she shivered, taking in the feeling of her bare skin against the thin sheet that was covering most of herself and just over half of Stella. As she pulled the sheet tighter around her chest and tucked one arm under her pillow, Shannon took in the sight of her sleeping girlfriend. She finally understood the attraction of watching someone sleep: there was nothing put innocence and peacefulness on her face, her true beauty there for the world to see but only there for Shannon to _see_.

Stella was lying comfortably on her stomach with her arms acting as a pillow; her real one lying forgotten about on the floor. The sheet was sitting low on Stella's back exposing the tattoos and scratch marks marring the smooth olive skin. She smiled at the memory as her fingers reached out of their own accord tracing the ink's patterns and lines before moving on ghost across the already healing marks. Stella didn't wake until Shannon's fingers running through her hair and across the back of her neck stirred her from her slumber.

There was a nervous exchange of sleepy smiles and Stella stretched, her face disappearing into the crook of her elbow momentarily before one eye peeked out to take in Shannon. She was met with blue eyes staring back. The hand that had been playing with Stella's hair was now sitting firmly just above the sheet on Stella's back. Her fingers were cool against Stella's skin

It came as a whisper and Stella was pretty sure she wouldn't have heard it if she hadn't seen Shannon's mouth move. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself," replied Stella, shifting closer to Shannon. A few minutes were spent in silence before anyone spoke. "So last night was..."

Shannon's face fell slightly. Had she not been very good last night? From the responses she had gotten all night, she thought that she had been okay. Her mind raced along in the early morning light, her worry evident on her face.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were going to devour me," Stella joked, laughing at herself. Shannon blushed and smiled as well, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the shoulder sitting before her effectively bringing both women even closer. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"I think there were several times last night." The older woman simply continued her ministrations across Stella's back. "I love you too."

Stella rolled over and covered herself up before pressing a soft kiss to Shannon's lips. The brunette hummed in contentment as she settled against the pillows and tightened her arm around Shannon. The younger woman slipped the tip of her finger along the bridge and down Shannon's nose with ease and dropped off the end softly. Her eyes slid shut just as Shannon began tracing imaginary lines across the side of her neck.

They spent the early morning hours in silence, the rain still bucketing on the roof. Shannon focussed on the steady beat of Stella's heart. it was a strangely intimate sensation for the Senior Sergeant; most of the sexual partners she'd had were never as willing to hold her, kiss her just because or tell her she was beautiful when she had just woken up as Stella was. It was the little thing that the brunette did that had caused Shannon to fall in love with her and the night before they had shown each other just how much.

The rain had shown no sign of stopping (despite the fact that it had reduced to a heavy drizzle) when they decided to get up to get something to eat. After their night together Shannon was more comfortable with her body and made no attempt in covering herself up as she sifted through her drawers for some clothes to wear around the house. Stella's grin was stopped in its tracks when a dark grey singlet hit her in the face.

"Come on, I'm getting hungry."

Stella reluctantly left the warmth of the bed and followed Shannon downstairs into the kitchen. As they made themselves coffee and toast, flittering around the small space, the two often found themselves attached somehow. Stella burnt her toast after becoming distracted with a rather deep kiss from Shannon.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, burning her fingers as she was pulling the hot toast from the toaster.

Shannon laughed. "You dork."

"It's your fault."

"Why is it my fault?"

"You distracted me."

"You kissed me first. I was simply returning it."

That was true and Stella huffed lightly before trying to scrape the charcoal off of her toast. Her sour mood improved slightly when Shannon pressed her lips to the back of her neck.

"Stop distracting me!"

Shannon simply laughed and continued her assault on Stella's neck until the brunette gave in. "I just can't stop touching you."

Stella dropped her piece of toast thankfully onto the plate and not the floor, and turned to face her girlfriend. That was the most straightforward Shannon had ever been with Stella.

There was a smirk on her face. "Oh is that so?"

Shannon nodded and felt herself being pulled in for a kiss. They didn't even pull apart when the phone started ringing, but instead let it ring out and the answering machine picked it up.

"Don't answer it," mumbled Stella.

Kerry's voice flittered out of the device as they continued to ignore it.

"Shannon, I'm guessing that the reason you're late to your nine a.m. fitness testing is because Stella is there. Both of you, get your arses in here."

They stopped kissing just as Stella's tongue slid into Shannon's mouth to look at the microwave clock. Its bright green letters read 09:44. "That's today?"

"Apparently. I thought the boys were doing that today and we were doing it tomorrow," said Stella, shoving her toast into her mouth as Shannon sped through her contacts list and quickly called Kerry back.

After a minute of 'uh-huh's' and 'mhmm's from Shannon, the older woman's eyes simply slid shut. "We'll be there at there around ten-thirty. We'll be an hour and a half late for fitness testing."

"Come again, why are we doing it today?"

"It got swapped around for Christian and one of his kids or something."

Stella nodded and sprinted upstairs, thankful that she had some clean clothes she could put on for their testing. That was the only real bad thing about being a part of a highly trained tactical squad, besides the paperwork; they had annual fitness testing to make sure they were still able to cope with the high standards of their jobs.

Thanks to Shannon's driving, they had made good time. Both of them had managed to have showers in record time, get dressed, drive to Stella's to pick up the younger woman's trainers and another change of clothes (it would have been just a little suss if she rocked up to work in Shannon's clothing again) before racing to work.

It was still raining when they arrived and the view they had over the city was dark and cloudy, a preview to the rest of the day. The clock in the dashboard of Shannon's car read 10:29 and the moment they stepped out of the car, the two women were met with a sour looking Kerry.

"Remind me to kill Christian. I was having a good morning," huffed Stella, before nearly running into Kerry who had crossed the parking lot without either of them noticing.

"Do I want to know why the two of you are late?" asked Kerry, with her arms crossed over her chest and angry yet curious look on her face.

Shannon and Stella shared a silent look before speaking simultaneously. "No."

"Well, go on, the garage has been blocked off for testing. They're waiting for you."

They trudged across the wet parking lot towards the back entrance of the building that led into the garage. The TR vehicles were parked outside to allow for room inside and Kerry's car was sitting next to them. The testers were finishing setting up the basic tests as they walked towards their lockers to rid themselves of extra items such as keys, wallets and phones.

Josh walked in halfway through their fourth test and laughed. Shannon told him off, that him that he had to do them the next day. Almost immediately his smile fell.

Four hours later and a sweaty Stella and a tired Shannon were sitting on the garage floor stretching after their shuttle run while the testers were completing Shannon and Stella's charts to compare their results to the norm requirements for their positions.

Thankfully they were both above the expected requirements and they headed back to their lockers to collect their stuff. When keys, wallets and phones were back in their hands and their towels were hanging over their shoulders, the two women met Kerry in her office to tell her that they were done.

"Our testing is done. Are we needed tomorrow?" asked Shannon.

"Unless you have paperwork, you both have the day off."

"Sweet," Stella whistled.

Shannon and Stella were halfway down the hallway when Kerry yelled out to them.

"And don't forget about the bush training on Thursday! You have to be here and ready to leave by eight!"

"Got it," yelled Stella, waving her hand over her shoulder.

"Don't be late!"

Shannon turned and nodded to show she understood before half chasing after her girlfriend through the garage.

"It's like déjà vu," muttered Stella as they stumbled back towards Shannon's car with sore legs.

"What do you mean?"

Stella pinched Shannon's keys from her hand again and headed for the driver's seat. Shannon was thankful for her girlfriends need to drive even though she had no idea how the younger woman had any energy.

"This is how I felt less than twelve hours ago."

Stella's smirk quickly disappeared when her girlfriend yanked on the strap of her singlet and pulled her into a kiss. The car doors were open and the vehicle was facing the building. If anyone was to walk out of the garage, they would see Shannon and Stella locked in a passionate kiss.

"Babe, someone could see us."

"I don't care," replied the Senior Sergeant. "Maybe we should go home."

"That sounds like a great idea."

"I think you need a cold shower."

"Care to join me in that shower?" quipped Stella. "But can we make it a hot shower? It's too cold for a cold one."

"Let's see how quickly you can get us home," answered Shannon, closing her door and pulling on her seatbelt as she waited.

Stella didn't need to be told twice as she closed her door and barely had her belt across her chest as she tore out of the lot. Shannon giggled when Stella groaned because her hand was slowly creeping up the younger woman's thigh. This only encouraged her to drive faster without actually speeding.

They had arrived back at Shannon's within fifteen minutes and the younger woman was practically trying to run through the hallway and pull her shoes off at the same time. Shannon's shoes came off, followed by her shirt dropping to the floor.

"You in a hurry or something Stel?"

Stella turned around just to see her girlfriend drop her shirt. Her jaw dropped and her voice croaked slightly, "Or something."

Shannon could only laugh as she was pulled upstairs towards the bathroom. As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, Stella's lips were on hers and she could feel hands pulling at her top trying to reach the skin underneath. They fumbled into the bathroom and Shannon broke away momentarily to catch her breath and open the shower door to turn on the taps.

Stella used the space to take a quick breath and take off her top leaving her only in her bra. The water was on and heating up fast. Shannon could feel the arousal coming off of Stella in waves; it felt just as strong as it had the night before.

Before she fully understood what was happening, she was being pulled into the shower. It was going to be a long, tiring afternoon.

* * *

It was nine twenty-five according to Shannon's watch and Lawson had started playing his classical music the moment TR1 was out of the parking lot. Today was the day of the Tactical Response's bush training exercise. Shannon would be leading Stella, Michael and Christian on a 'manhunt' for Josh and Lawson before a navigational exercise that would cover up to ten kilometres. They were currently heading towards the State Forrest over an hour away from the city and TR1 puttered behind TR2 along the windy roads.

Lawson's taste in music was beginning to give Shannon a headache and they were only twenty five minutes into the drive, but she could mostly blame that on not getting enough sleep the night before. That was purely Stella's fault. Michael hadn't said a word to her all morning even when she asked him how his fitness testing went. He had simply handed her a coffee and took the keys from her hand. The tension between them wasn't that high when they both laughed at their boss's antics when it came to his music.

Stella was trying to nap in TR2 as Josh and Christian talked in the front seat. It was all Shannon's fault she didn't get enough sleep the night before their training exercises. Her head was propped up against the window, resting on a blanket she had found in the boot of the car. Her attempts at trying to sleep were halted when Christian changed the radio station fifteen minutes into the drive and her phone buzzed in her pocket.

'_Help. Lawson's music is driving me crazy and Michael hasn't said a word to me the entire drive.'_

'_You think you've got it bad? Christian has started talking about the Devine Jesus Christ _and_ his kids.'_

'_It's a tie. I am so tired.'_

'_And whose fault is that?'_

'_Yours. :P. I love you. xx.'_

Stella smiled sleepily at the text. The music wasn't that loud and she was sure the boys had heard her as she had typed her replies. Surely enough after her third message, Josh spoke up.

"Who is blowing your phone up?"

"My girlfriend," she answered before finally replying to the last message. _'I love you too babe.'_

'_Shannon,'_ he thought, smirking to himself.

"I'm going back to sleep," she muttered. She was trying to ignore any more questions from Josh about her current relationship. Even if he had his suspicions, Shannon and Stella couldn't actually comment on it without admitting that they were dating for the most part.

Christian moved on from his two (soon to be three) kids to a dream of his ten minutes later when he got back in the car after pulling over to relieve himself against a bush.

"I've had this dream my entire adult life right?" Stella could practically hear Josh nod. She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or serious. "I'm driving home, it's Friday, had a crappy week, but the weekend's ahead of me. I turn into my street and I know it's there waiting for me. I turn into my driveway and there it is."

"What?" asked Josh.

"My speedboat."

"Bogan!" Stella deadpanned from the back seat.

"I thought you were asleep," he said, slightly crestfallen that his dream wasn't appreciated by everyone in the car.

"Yeah right, with this cock-rock banging in my ear."

Josh simply laughed.

"Cause you know you've made it when there's a speed boat in your driveway."

"Yeah, I reckon you could make that dream come true mate," offered Josh. He was beginning to get a little tired of this story, especially when all the comedy had worn off five minutes into the trip.

"But it just sits there. All weekend."

"Why Christian?" he asked.

"Cause I can't back a trailer for shit!" The Islander laughed at his own joke and then tried to listen as Josh answered his phone.

"Lawson says that there's a servo up here. We're going to stop so TR1 can fill up."

"I hope there's a toilet," muttered Stella.

The rain was getting heavier and some thunder rumbled over their heads as they pulled up to the servo. Michael got out of the car to fill it up with some more petrol before they moved up to their destination. According to Josh it was only about another ten minutes drive, but Stella wasn't listening as she rushed out to the mechanic in the garage to ask him where the toilet was. He wasn't going to deny a police officer.

Shannon watched for a moment as Michael went about filling up the car and listened through Lawson's open window to Christian complain about women going to the toilet being 'a major production'. Her attention moved to the road and bush land surrounding them as Michael then went on to call Lawson a tight arse because he wouldn't help pay for petrol. Christian honked the horn for Stella to hurry up.

"What?" she asked.

"I think your ex-boyfriend is trying to get your attention," explained Christian.

Stella turned at looked at Michael who glared at her and continued inside to pay. She turned back to Christian with a questioning look on her face. "What?"

One word summed it up.

"Overalls."

Stella finally spotted the mechanic just his eyes travelled back up her body. "Aww, gross," she whispered, more to herself than the boys and pulled a face at the mechanic. His leering smile dropped and he slammed the boot of the car he was standing in front of.

"Pretty subtle, Stel," said Josh as she got back into the car.

"Well that's how I roll Josh," she said sarcastically. Christian just laughed and started the car.

Josh was true to his word when they arrived at a service road into the Forrest. The Park Rangers knew that they were there and were the TR vehicles would be in case of an emergency although it was unlikely that they would be called for the emergency when the Rangers were told not to disturb the group.

The cars were parked and Stella took the moment to admire the view of Shannon walking towards her. She had to stop herself when Christian began getting out of the car and pushed herself to walk to the back of the car to get the equipment. They had their police issue jackets, their vests, safety glasses and paintball guns. It was still early and they were going to be out there all day.

"Alright. Anyone unclear on the operation?" asked Lawson. He and Josh were standing across from the rest of the group in camouflage pants. Stella was finding it slightly difficult to take him seriously as she put on her safety glasses. No one answered. "Good. There's a phone there is you need it. By needing it I mean someone is close to death."

"Or dead," added Josh sombrely.

"Excellent, see you soon," laughed Shannon, leading the group off into the words.

"Not if we see you first," challenged the team leader.

Stella clapped. Michael jumped off a fallen log. Christian started walking with big steps. Josh and Lawson smiled to each other and hopped into the driver's seat of each car and drove off. They were going to be driving around to a back road on the edge of the Forrest and then working back towards the officers.

"Let's move," ordered Shannon.

Over an hour later and the TR team had still not come across their 'criminals'. They were spread out in a standard formation with Michael in the lead, Shannon and Stella flanking the sides and Christian bringing up the tail end. The thunder was getting louder and they were on the west side of the mountain range that the Forrest was located on so all the water was running downhill under their feet. Thankfully it wasn't too muddy so they didn't slip too much.

They all stopped and Christian ran into Stella's back as they came across the head of a sheep on a stake, warning that trespassers were not allowed.

"That's sick," Stella declared, her weapon still raised and she looked at Shannon. "Who would do that?"

"Are we on someone's property?" asked Christian, when he managed to untangle himself from the three he had walked into after bumping into Stella.

"Nah. This is definitely State Forrest," said Michael, speaking for the first time since the left.

"Or someone thinks they own it," Stella added in.

"Alright, let's get back on task. According to intelligence, our fugitives are east of this position. Let's go," ordered Shannon.

Stella looked at her. The words Shannon used made her seem so high-tech.

They continued walking, crossing a track and moving back into the thick shrubs catching on their boots. They had now formed a line with Michael still leading. They were less than one hundred yards from the sheep's head when the sound of a thick twig snapping was heard. The group of officers stopped and dropped, waiting for anymore sounds.

There fugitives were close.

Stella was positive of this when pellets of paint began hitting tree trunks near her head and Shannon spoke through their comms. As they took cover the Senior Sergeant silently communicated with Stella, ordering her to try and get a look at where the shots were coming from.

The brunette motioned for Christian to follow her, leaving Michael with Shannon back where they had taken cover. As Stella and Christian moved off to circle around one of their fugitives, Michael moved closer to Shannon.

"Shannon, it's an ambush. Let me get some distance. I can cover you."

"Nuh. You're a part of this team Michael. We're not splitting up."

"Trust me, it's a trap!"

"Did you hear that?" she asked, smirk on her face.

"Nah, he just wants you to think he's here," justified Michael.

In the distance they could hear Lawson groaning about something. There was one more crack of a twig behind Michael and he turned, firing a pellet right into Josh's shoulder.

"Drop your weapon!" ordered Stella.

"Put it down!" came from Christian, some fifty meters ahead of Shannon. "You shouldn't break cover like that man."

"You almost cost me my notional life," muttered Michael as he pointed to Shannon.

The Senior Sergeant jokingly told Josh to put his hands in the air. He did before the three of them trekked off towards Stella and Christian holding Lawson and paint-gun point.

"Find a friend did you Lawson?" asked the younger officer.

"Its head's back that way," nodded the Islander before grimly adding, "on a stick."

They had an hour for lunch before they had to start their navigational exercise. Thankfully the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. They sat down and opened their backpacks, pulling out sandwiches and water bottles. Shannon and Stella were sitting next to each other with their backs to the sun, and with the boys they made a large wonky circle.

"Hey, I got a question for you two," said Michael, pointing at the girls.

"What?"

"Leon's been going on about this at the pub the other night so I want to know if he's telling the truth. Then again he was drunk."

"Spit it out then," demanded Shannon, taking a bite of her vegemite and cheese sandwich.

"Is it true that the two of you kissed in the locker room?"

Shannon choked slightly, while Stella chuckled at Josh and Lawson's reactions; their eyes were bulging out of their sockets. Christian smiled at the memory.

"Yes we did," said Stella, almost proud.

Michael was giving Shannon a glare that she chose to ignore as he asked his next question. "Why?"

"Look at it this was. Back up Leon and she's pissed at me," started Stella. "Or back her up and shut Leon up. His silence s a wonderful sound."

"Fair enough," said Lawson. "Alright pack your crap up; you guys need to get going."

Their rubbish was stuffed back into their packs under drink bottles as they prepared themselves for the boring exercise, according to Christian. Lawson went on to explain their task.

"Alright, the next task is a navigational exercise. Follow the coloured markers in accordance with the map I've given you. Josh and I'll be waiting for you back at unit base, with food ready to take you back in to town. Now, you've made pretty good time so far so if you keep up the pace, you might even be outta here by nightfall."

"We'll make it," Shannon said cockily. Stella hid her smile, while Michael finally showed a warmer reception to Shannon by openly smiling at her.

"If you don't make it out of her by dusk, you're out here for the night," said Josh, his own smirk growing as Michael's fell. "And you don't want that."

"What, we'll be beheaded and impaled on a stick?" he asked jokingly.

"I reckon it's about an hour and a half before its dark."

"So best get moving," ordered Lawson, waving his hand in the direction of the first coloured marker.

"Keep your eyes open," Josh reminded them. God, it was like this was their first navigational exercise.

Stella took off in front, everyone else trailing behind her. Shannon pulled out the map Lawson had handed her after lunch while Michael searched for his compass.

"Maintain a thirty-five degree bearing. Should be about fifty metres in front of us," she explained, trying to watch where her feet were going and the instructions on the map.

Michael had taken the lead once again with everyone silently voting him in front. Stella was in between Shannon and Christian but she kept tripping when she would lose concentration. She was too busy watching Shannon. She was half-tuned out when the boys began talking.

"Thirty-five degrees, you got it," replied Michael.

"Hey, what do you think Josh knows that we don't?"

"About the spooky forest?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing." Stella didn't need to turn around to know that Christian was slightly confused. "The thing you have to realise about Josh is that he exists for one reason: and that is to fornicate."

"Fornicate?" asked Shannon.

"I'm in polite company Shannon, I'll use the polite term. And if he can't fornicate with a female, he'll find something else to fornicate with. In this case, he's fornicating with our minds."

"So you're saying he's a mind-fornicator?"

Shannon turned and looked at Stella. She could feel her girlfriend's eyes on her every time she took a step. But if she gave Stella attention for staring at her she may as well be walking backwards.

"Who's to say he did find a dead sheep out in the forest and cut its head off? Get us all on edge?"

"No way! Michael, you're full of it," said Stella. "There it is."

Straight up ahead they four police officers could see a thick red cloth tied round a tree, marking it.

"Aha. Team work."

"What are the next co-ordinates?" he asked.

"Ninety-eight degree bearing. One-point-five k," Shannon answered.

"That'd be this way," said Michael, turning.

Before he could gain any momentum up the hill, his boot caught something sending him falling down a small ridge.

"Michael! Michael!"

Stella reached him first. "Hey, you alright? Did you break anything?"

"I don't think so."

"I gotcha. Get up. You're such a tough guy," she commented.

Shannon laughed but Michael didn't seem to get the joke.

"I lost the compass."

"Ah, don't worry. I'll find it," said Christian, going back up the ridge slowly to search for the small white compass.

Michael went onto blame Josh. Stella shushed him and Shannon agreed with her. They were calming down until Christian told him that their only source of true direction was broken.

"Well can you take it apart?" asked Stella.

"Yeah I could but then what?" said Christian.

"Alright, let's just call this in. They have to pick up Michael anyway. We'll go in, have a barbeque, we'll be right," suggested the brunette.

"We're not calling it in. We've made it this far, I'm not losing this now."

Shannon chortled at him. "Well can you walk?"

"I can't dance, but I can walk. And when I see Josh, I am going to shoot the shit out of him."

Stella searched for Shannon's brown eyes and managed to find them, only they weren't filled with comic relief but it was closer to worry.

"We got about an hour left," said Christian.

"Let's do it. Look out for the markers and I'll navigate us out of here."

"Thanks for that Lawson," Stella joked, her head whipping around to Shannon just before she tripped.

"Watch your step Stella."

It was a fifteen hundred metre walk to the next marker, and that was under the assumption that they were walking in the right direction. With no compass, it made things a little harder. Shannon could hear the thunder rumbling over their heads which meant only one thing: the rain was back. The clouds were quite dark and Christian made a comment about God being pissed off about something.

The groups pace slowed with an injured participant and Stella had somehow been nominated to keep an eye on him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"What do you think?" His voice was no longer full of angry hinted at Josh, but now there was a bit of bite to his words as he snapped at her.

"Where did that come from?" she asked.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you about what?"

"The kiss in the locker room."

"I call bullshit, because you are too pissed about just a kiss."

"I just want to know why you didn't tell me."

"That's it?"

"Yep. And you still haven't answered my question."

"Why didn't I tell you about the locker room kiss, gee let me think? Oh yeah, because it's none of your business who I kiss Michael. It was just to shut Leon up. Besides you're dating Audrey."

"We broke up. I was going to ask you out again."

"Okay, you need to get it through your head that I don't want to date you. Yes, we had sex. But that is all it was Michael."

Michael's face dropped slightly and his voice changed. Stella began walking again when Shannon yelled at them to hurry up.

"So what's the whole story? Are you dating?"

The automatic response was for Stella to deny her relationship with Shannon but she thought he deserved to know. She had kind of strung him along for two years. Besides it would get him off her back about it. Then again she and Shannon had decided not to tell anyone.

"It was just a kiss Michael."

"Are you sleeping with her?"

"No I'm not sleeping with Shannon. How about you get that through your head along with the fact that I don't want to date you? Huh?"

"Hey, hurry up!" yelled Christian.

They were lagging behind significantly and Stella jogged to catch up, leaving the physically and emotionally wounded Michael behind.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"As long as there is a big barbeque at the end of this," he said.

"Well, step it up, it's getting dark," said Shannon. She would never openly admit it but being left out in the woods over night was her most irrational fear. She had watched too many horror movies as a kid and vowed to stay away from them as much as possible. Her hand came up to play with the cross hanging around her neck. "If you're too injured, I can call Lawson to come and pick you up."

"Is this better? Is this better?" asked Michael sarcastically, trying to catch up by running.

Shannon and Stella turned as Christian took the lead, and the Senior Sergeant spoke again. "Oh, look at him go, look at him go."

"I know what you are doing, and you are worse than Josh."

"Hey," said Christian, pulling them from their banter. "There we go. Blue?"

Less than twenty meters ahead of them was a thinner blue rag tied around an even thinner tree. Shannon was definitely worried now as she searched the surrounding trees for any other markers; hopefully a red one was hanging off a tree somewhere close by.

"Well, he never said what colour," state Michael.

"No. Shit!" exclaimed Shannon, still searching for the invisible red marker when Michael snatched the map from her hands.

"Come on, it's not that hard. We're here, unit base is there. The sun sets in the west - thank you - so north is that way," said Michael, as if it was all that simple.

All three fully functioning officers were worried.

"We're not going to find the markers are we?"

"I blame Josh," said Michael.

'Here we go again,' thought Stella. _'Why did he have to fall down a hill? I could be getting ready to go to bed with Shannon right now. A warm bed, in dry clothes after a full meal.'_

"No, you know what? I blame Lawson for a lack of leadership when it comes to Josh. Actually I blame both of them."

"Alright, let's follow Michael," said Shannon, caving in to the younger man's ideas.

"Hey there's another one!" shouted Christian, which was cut off by Stella's laughing when Michael fell over again.

Shannon trailed behind smiling lightly, but still worried. Her girlfriend must have sensed it because Stella held back, letting the boys go ahead.

"Hey, you okay?" asked the brunette. Her voiced softened the same way it did every time she spoke to Shannon. It was familiar and gave Shannon just a little bit of comfort.

"Yeah. I just don't want to get caught out here overnight."

"It'll be alright."

"If anything happens, we're armed with paint-ball guns."

"Spit it out," Stella deadpanned.

"I watched too many horror movies as a kid," she said. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a therapy session with her girlfriend about her irrational fears.

"Sure, sure. Oh hey, guess what? Michael thinks we're sleeping together."

"We are sleeping together," Shannon whispered back.

"He doesn't need to know that."

Shannon giggled and followed Stella back up to the boys, wishing she could just hold her hand. They walked in silence, their minds focussed on where they were walking. Michael eyed both women suspiciously. Even though Leon had a habit of over exaggerating especially when it came to his fantasies coming true right before his eyes, the intelligence officer had been right when he suggested the idea of something happening between the two women.

"Hey check this out. What the hell is this?" asked Stella as the group came across a burnt out car in the middle of the forest with no visible way in or out. There were also signs around the car, labelling certain places or objects like a cafe, yucca, bamboo and a topiary.

"Looks like a train ground for the bombers," commented Shannon, taking a quick look before following Christian in the direction of a possible road.

Once again they had formed a single line as they trekked through the never ending bushland. The sun was getting lower and Shannon could feel the drop in temperature, even through all of her layers. Stella tripped behind her again and she rolled her eyes. There was movement to their left and they all stopped to search for the source of the sound. Their team leader motioned for them to duck down silently.

"Josh?" she whispered.

Stella smirked and giggled quietly as she nodded.

"It's gotta be," muttered Christian. He himself was silently praying that it was Josh. If it was and one of them got shot with a paint ball pellet, it meant they could be lead out of the forest and back to civilisation.

The four of them smirked and pulled out their toy guns, ready to shoot the Senior Sergeant for leading them on a wild goose chase through the forest. For Michael it was to get him back for making him fall down the ridge. Christian was ordered forward towards the source of the noise and they all waited with baited breath to see the outcome. Shannon was ready to throw a stick at him as a twig snapped under his foot.

The Islander turned back to the group with a less than pleased but slightly amused grin. "Clear."

Shannon, Stella and Michael stood and holstered their weapons. Michael instantly became attached to the live sheep that was munching happily on the shrubs and weeds.

"Someone around her must have a broken fence."

Shannon and Christian agreed with Stella and they turned to look into the distance for any sign of a property fence. Their team leader took another glance at the darkening clouds and her worry grew just a little bit more. This didn't go unnoticed by Stella.

"Hey, how did you get out here girl?"

"How do you know it's a girl?" asked Stella.

"I know women," the young man explained cockily.

Christian could help but to point it out. "Women of all species."

Stella was somehow managing to keep a straight face, but she honestly wasn't surprised at Michael's behaviour. He had a habit of becoming attached to women he had just met, no matter which species, and she could tell that he was ready to make a dig. "You're a sheep magnet."

"Well you could say I go for a certain type." Michael spoke without taking his eyes from Stella.

The brunette simply rolled her eyes and scoffed along with Christian. Shannon could tell that he was hinting at Stella, and immediately shut down the conversation. She didn't either want to or need to hear about her girlfriends past with their immature colleague.

"The shadows aren't getting any shorter, let's move it folks."

"Shannon, I reckon we should bring her with us," Michael suggested with a grin on his face.

Stella finally laughed.

"What?"

"She's not safe out here."

"He's in love," joked Stella.

"Are you serious?" asked Shannon.

"Well look what happened to her mate."

"No! She'll slow us down!" Michael's smiled faltered. Stella and Christian's eyes flew back and forth between Michael and Shannon. "Do you want a barbeque or not?"

"Let's have a vote." Michael's three colleagues all pulled faces at him and walked off. "Ahh, stuff it."

They could hear him saying goodbye and trying to 'shoo' it away.

"Michael, hurry up!" yelled Shannon.

They walked mostly in silence for the next half an hour, with Michael occasionally whinging about leaving the sheep behind, being hungry and slightly in pain. The rain had finally set in for the afternoon and Shannon had a feeling that they would definitely arrive back in the city with head colds. When Stella looked at her girlfriend, she was reminded of why she had fallen for the older woman.

"Gorgeous," she whispered, barely loud enough for Shannon to hear. She must have heard it because she received a smile and a wink back.

When Stella finally looked back towards the front, Shannon had stopped and raised her hand automatically. She looked past her shoulder and saw an older man looking around for something. They all quickly took cover.

"He's got a weapon," said Christian.

"Trapper," said Shannon.

"Arsehole!" Michael whispered furiously.

"Alright, I want to talk to him. We're going to make an approach. Michael I want you to come around from behind and wait for my signal to make contact."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? He's armed," Stella asked.

"We're not going to let him walk. That trap could have killed Michael."

"Don't worry, Stel. We'll get him," Michael offered. He felt warm at the idea of Stella worried about him. Little did he know, the worry was more for Shannon, herself and Christian than it was about Michael. But that was only because she was mad at him for his earlier assumptions.

"You hope."

Their trapper was walking away from them and the remaining three officers watched as Michael sprinted silently to get in front of him so they could box him in. There was more thunder and Shannon signalled Michael.

Michael addressed him and held his attention before the others joined him. Shannon began asking questions and he admitted to looking for missing sheep due to holes in his perimeter fencing. He got a little smart with Michael over his weapons license, but in his defence Michael did walk into it. The trapper went on to explain that he set rabbit traps, nothing bigger, and it was his neighbours traps that kill his sheep.

"Who?" asked Shannon.

"Ginsberg."

"Why does he set traps?"

"Why don't you go and ask him. I say he lives just over there."

Christian stepped in. "We've actually found sheep, dead and alive. The live one is about a twenty minute walk that way."

"What about the dead one?"

Shannon handed Christian the map. "The body is about round there. But the head is back that way."

It was no secret that he was angry. "Bloody maniac. Can I have my gun back?" Stella adjusted the rifle before handing it back to him. "You lot aren't planning on spending the night out here are you?

"No," deadpanned Michael.

"That's good. You don't want to be out here at night," said the trapper, before walking off in the direction Christian had pointed in search for his live sheep.

The rain stopped suddenly and the sun came out of hiding. The day's rare warmth though was not long lasting as they speed walked through the forest. Stella was beginning to hate mother nature and her tempera-mentality. Why couldn't it just rain or shine? All she wanted was consistency, but her prayers were for rain so she wouldn't feel muggy and cold, wet and dry all at the same time.

"This is good," said Shannon, just as they came over a small rise. "If we're lucky we might be out of here by dark."

"Might," added Michael.

"Enough of you scepticism," said Shannon.

"We are an elite team. We cannot be beaten," Christian said in a voice that reminded Stella of the voiceover at the beginning of a _Law and Order_ episode.

"Except we failed the navigational exercise," laughed Stella.

"It wasn't our fault."

"Lawson's going to make us pay for it, I bet you."

"What are they going to do? Withhold the sausages?" Michael joked sarcastically.

"Don't say that. Not even as a joke," announced Christian, just as he and Shannon came around a tree and spotted another dead sheep but this time it was impaled with a large spike log. "What kind of sicko does this?"

"Do you think it suffered?" asked Stella.

Michael rounded on Shannon. "What did I tell you? We should have brought her with us."

"Don't look at me."

"It was you who made the decision to leave her behind."

"It was you who made _the final_ decision as _I_ recall," said Stella, sticking up for her girlfriend. As they argued, her eyes flickered back and forth again.

"Now?" asked Shannon. It was only getting darker by the minute. They didn't have much sunlight left at this point.

"Or first thing tomorrow."

"What? You want to set up camp tonight?"

"Not particularly. But I don't really want to wander around lost in the dark."

"We might make it out of here," said a hopeful Shannon.

"We're not going to make it out of here Shannon!"

"What if it rains again?"

"Aren't you enraged by this?"

"Well yeah I am, of course I am." Michael wasn't letting her get out full sentences or paragraphs without interrupting. _'Who is the team leader again?'_

"Well then don't you want to do something about it?" asked Michael. Shannon looked at him slightly shocked. He was moving on to borderline vigilante status now. Stella however couldn't help but agree with Michael when he suggested that they pay Ginsburg a visit about the dead sheep and offered Shannon a gentle smile. "So let's teach the prick a lesson."

Shannon was tempted to scoff when her girlfriend agreed with Michael, but she held herself back. If she said something about their history is would result in a fight; their first fight as a couple. If she said no she would become the bad guy and then Michael would really complain. She seriously wanted this day to be over.

"Alright," she started. She was a little uneasy as she spoke. "We'll find a space and set up camp, hit him at first light."

Michael seemed pleased with himself. "Okay."

Within in twenty minutes, they had found a nicely sized area with low shrubs for cover. It wasn't too big so they were in shouting distance of one another, but not too close so that they were basically sitting in each other's laps. The trees were also thicker which mean that they had some shelter from any unwanted visitors and the lowest sitting branches gave them just a little bit of dryness.

As Christian cleared a space for himself and began setting up his little sleeping area, he announced his hunger. "I'm so hungry I could eat a butted monkey."

Shannon and Stella were looking into the surrounding bushland while clearing an area they could share. When Michael questioned them about being so close, they claimed it was to keep warm and that if the boys were that cold they could snuggle with each other. Michael went back to doing his own thing quietly.

"Is that a Samoan thing?" asked Stella.

"No, I think it's just Christian. Nice kit you got there," said Michael as he picked up another stick and watched as Christian set up a thin mat and blanket.

"It is."

"You reckon you got a spare thermal or something?"

"You see it's called, ahh, preparation," Christian explained mockingly. "You do good to remember that."

Michael took it in his stride and went back to collecting sticks. "It's fine. I've got my own shit going on over here."

Stella laid out her own thin mat as Shannon cleared a little more space for her own. Michael was the only one without something to sleep on besides the wet ground. Shannon laughed.

"No fires Michael."

"We're going to freeze our arses off."

"You were the one who wanted to set up camp," said Stella.

"You agreed with me!"

"No, I agreed with teaching the trapper a lesson. Not camping."

"Besides, a fire would tip of our sheep-torturing mate. This is a State Forrest. No fires except in the pits in the camping grounds," Shannon explained.

"I'm not eating it raw," said Christian.

Stella was lost as she leaned against a tree. "Do I want to know what you're not eating raw?"

"We're not eating the sheep," said Michael.

Stella shuddered and leant closer to Shannon for some warmth. She wasn't entirely sure is she was shuddering because of the rapidly dropping temperature or the idea of eating a murdered sheep.

"It's a sheep," said Christian, as if that justified eating it.

"It was murdered. You don't eat murdered sheep. Who are you?"

"What?"

The girls grimaced and laughed and prepared themselves for a cold, wet night with a very little source of heat.

When Stella announced she needed a bathroom break before they went to sleep, she pulled Shannon with her under the excuse that she didn't want to get lost and she wanted somebody to watch out for anyone else in the area. However the moment they were just outside the visual ability of the boys, the older woman was pushed gently against a tree.

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted to do that all day," said Stella, pressing her lips to Shannon's desperately and gripping her hips. Their vests were making it just a little harder for Stella to reach her girlfriend's lips.

"I have some idea," Shannon muttered as she smiled, her forehead resting against Stella's.

There were a few more quick kisses before they pulled apart and Stella took in the look in Shannon's eyes. "You alright?"

"Yes, I just really didn't want to get caught out here for the night."

"Neither did I. We could be snuggling in warm bed in a sleazy motel back in town right now," Stella joked, earning her a soft jab to the stomach.

"Part of it was because you all ganged up on me, don't look at me like that. You know it's true." Shannon's voice was soft to show she wasn't really angry, just a little upset that she had let herself be overturned by three junior police officers.

"You know I didn't mean it like that when I agreed with Michael. I said yes to getting back at that prick, not sleeping out here."

"I know. I guess it's just more his attitude that's giving me that shits than anything else. He keeps pushing about everything if it's not his way. Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry that I didn't stick up for you earlier. It's just harder because he has suspicions. You know he's pushing you because of those suspicions. He's waiting for you to tell him off so he can pick a fight. We can't really do or say anything without admitting our relationship. It's the same with Josh. I guess this is the hard part about keeping it from everyone at work huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. In hindsight we did kind of bring it on ourselves."

Stella laughed lightly. Anything too loud would alert Christian and Michael. "I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

They made their way back to their 'camp' to get some rest. Now Stella really did need to go to the toilet.

'_Damn it.'_

The rain was becoming heavier and more consistent when they finally decided to go to sleep. Christian simply smirked to himself as he watched the outlines of Shannon and Stella roll over and face away from the boys. He could just make out Stella wrapping an arm over Shannon. Fortunately for the girls, he couldn't hear the soft kiss that was pressed against the back of Shannon's neck.

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**Well, is it up to your standards this time? R&R. Thats all folks**


	15. The Promise

**Okay, I'm sorry this took so long to update. I hope the length makes up for it. I've had no motivation for any fic writings except Glee and even then it was a half-arsed effort. :P. So this is the conclusion to the previous chapter. Hope you like it. The response I got from my beta was that flows well. I hope thats true because she didn't read the finished product. Once again - unbeta'd, so ignore the mistakes, I'm sure there are plenty.**

**alina grech - thanks for not commenting :). Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**HappyHereford - I don't have to say anything. TTYL**

**In A Rush - OMG another long review haha. Hope this makes you a happy camper again. This one's for you.**

**K - I'm aware that it ended suddenly, I probably could have worked the ending a bit better but I was in a hurry to get it up...that sounds rather dirty in my mind.**

**LadyBelle84 - Thanks.**

**Reviewers - Hope you like this one and thanks for the reviews. They help with whatever motivation I can muster up.**

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Stella was perfectly content to stay where she was at the present time: wrapped around Shannon with no intention of moving. It was only when she could hear the faint call of a kookaburra or the smell of the lingering on the trees that she remembered exactly where they were snuggling. They were in the middle of the bush. Her eyes opened just a sliver and took in the grey light of a wet morning. She let out an annoyed sigh and removed her arm from around Shannon to peak at her watch. Her girlfriend shuffled back at the loss of warmth.

It was barely five thirty in the morning and a chill ripped through her. Stella flexed her right hand, the arm Shannon was resting her head on as she slept; Shannon gripped her wrist lightly. Instead of waking every one up to get the rest of their hike out of the way early, Stella simply wrapped her arm back around Shannon, pulled her closer and tried to drift back to sleep. A quick kiss was pressed to the exposed skin of Shannon's neck.

Shannon was in that stage somewhere in between sleep and awake. Her senses were dulled but she could still hear the birds, feel the chilly breeze and Stella's lips. She didn't want to get up because she was finally just a bit warm. She groaned softly when Stella's arm moved from around her waist and snuggled backwards.

"It's too early," Stella whispered.

"Go back to sleep," Shannon murmured.

And she did. When she finally woke up two hours later, it was to the sound of quiet shuffling behind her. Momentarily, her mind jumped to the trapper and she thought someone or something else was behind them but she was strangely relieved to see Michael walking past and then away from the group to relieve himself. Her eyes were barely open but she could still make his glare that was directed towards her. She smiled cockily at him as he unbuttoned his pants. He kept walking rather stiffly.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Suddenly Michael dropped to the ground and everyone was fully awake and alert. Stella sat up and let go of Shannon, her head whipping around to find the source of the noise. She knew almost immediately that a gun had fired; she had heard them in the nightmares she used to have. Christian hadn't moved for the most part, but his head had lifted from his makeshift pillow to take in the scene sideways. Shannon was looking for where the shots had come from as well but her eyes were searching the distance past Michael. Despite the fact that everyone in the group recognised the gunfire and their first instincts should have been to take cover, no one moved except to try and figure out where they had come from.

When the young Senior Constable tried to stand up, three more shots rang out. That was when everyone sought out shelter behind trees. Stella had a hand on the back of Shannon's vest, basically pushing her girlfriend to the closest one and then crouching down behind the tree next to her. Michael was zipping his pants back up as he flattened himself against the nearest tree.

"What happened?" asked Stella.

"I don't know. I heard something, kind of like a ding dong and then there were shots fired."

"A ding dong?"

"Yeah, like a shop door." Even Michael sounded doubtful about where it had come from and what it was.

"A shop door? Michael, we're in the middle of nowhere."

"All I know is that someone is definitely taking pot shots in our general direction," explained Michael as he grabbed the binoculars from his bag.

Shannon pulled out the phone Lawson had given them in case of an emergency. "I'm calling Lawson."

"There. There's a caravan about five hundred meters that way, maybe less."

Shannon was struggling with the phone and couldn't find a signal.

"No reception?" asked Stella.

"Nup."

"Here, give it to me," said Michael as he sprinted to Shannon, took the phone and disappeared into the trees behind them. Shannon simply handed it over and took the binoculars from him. Stella's mind drifted to the conversation she had had with Shannon the night before. Michael was once again making the decisions.

"Shan."

"Yeah, I know," Shannon muttered back before turning to seek out the caravan Michael had found.

As his footsteps finally disappeared, the three remaining members were met with the silence.

"What a nice wake up call," joked Christian.

"I can think of better of ones," Stella smirked, winking at the Islander.

"Oh yeah," he sighed dramatically.

Shannon struggled not to turn around and glare at her girlfriend and the islander. They all waited with baited breath for Michael to return with news from Lawson. Even though none of the TR officers could see or hear him, it was obvious that he was having trouble with the phone; he was taking too long. Ten minutes of silence and small talk later, Michael came thundering back through the thickets behind them.

"Josh and Lawson are on their way but it may take a little time. Apparently they don't have TR with them."

"Alright, then I guess we can do a little recon until they get here," announced Shannon. "Spread out and take it slowly. As soon as you hear Michael's, ahh, 'ding dong', take cover."

Her girlfriend smirked but silently went about doing what she was told with the others and began walking towards the caravan. Their first few steps were difficult as more shots were fired in their direction. They were still stumped at where the shots were coming from.

"Anyone else seeing a pattern here?" asked Christian, looking into the direction they had come from as they hid behind another line of trees.

"What?" asked Michael, slipping down behind another tree.

"Shots are fired every fifty metres," said Shannon, before looking up towards the canopy above them. "It's gotta be some sort of motion sensor. Tipping off the shooter to where we are."

"We heard the ding dong," said Stella.

"Still think I'm crazy?" asked Michael.

Stella smirked and started looking around with Shannon and Christian for any technological device that shouldn't be in the bush.

"There's one," said Shannon, pointing to one that was tied roughly fifteen feet up a tree trunk.

"There's another one. Hey, they're everywhere," explained Stella as she spotted three more sensors

"Alright, hold your positions," ordered Shannon to Stella and Michael, before she turned and looked around the tree she was hiding behind. "Christian!"

It seemed that the Islander had already made up his mind and signalled the direction he was going to take in an effort to get to the caravan. Even though Shannon tried to motion for him to stop, Christian was already gone. He had only gotten less than ten metres when a large resounding bang went off; engulfing him in a cloud of smoke and broken branches and twigs.

"CHRISTIAN!" she yelled, moving from her position to check on him.

Shannon reached him first, pulling him down to the ground as he tried to run for cover. Stella came around the other side of some shrubs, grabbing his other shoulder to hold him down. Michael was yelling to see if he was okay.

"Is he okay?" Michael asked, immediately going to look out to check if there was anyone coming. They were definitely closer to the caravan now.

"You okay?"

"It's my ears!" said Christian. His eyes were slightly out of focus as Shannon tried to look him over for any major injuries. His hands covered his ears in a failed attempt to block out the ringing that was definitely going to give him a headache.

"You see anything?" asked Stella. Her mind was going back and forth between Christian and Michael, just waiting for the trapper to come out and shoot them.

"Nah."

"There was a weird sound and then it exploded." Christian sounded as if he had had too many to drink at the pub after a shift.

"This guy is dealing with some serious explosives. We need to get a closer look at that caravan," said Michael said. His eyes were wide and it was easy to tell that he was full of adrenaline.

"Take Stella with you. You be bloody careful okay?" said Shannon, looking at both of them pointedly. The warning was more to her girlfriend that Michael, but as the officer in charge it meant the same to both of them.

"Okay, go. Go!" Yelled Stella. Michael took off and Stella sprinted behind him. Shannon looked after them momentarily before turning back to Christian.

As the two Senior Constables ran, Michael pulled out his paintball gun. "What are you gonna do? Paintball him?"

"When facing an adversary an illusion is just as effective as the real thing."

Stella just thought that Michael liked the feeling of a carrying a weapon too much. She pulled out her binoculars and begun to make notes of the caravan. The explosion that Christian had been in only minutes before would have definitely tipped whoever was in the caravan off that someone was out in the forest. Stella turned back to look in the direction she had just come from. In the distance she could see two very small blue dots moving across the horizon to hide.

"I get the feeling today is not going to end well," she said, before focussing her attention back to the white caravan ahead of her. "Alright, I've got one suspect, white van. They look like beer kegs."

"I don't know," replied Michael, taking the object from Stella and looking towards the offender. "Can't see a rego. Alright, I'm going to stick around and try and get a better look."

"I'll let Shannon know." Now that they knew someone was in the immediate area, Stella had to make an effort to stay quiet and not be seen. If a homemade bomb and a rifle was what was protecting the place, Stella hate the idea of what would be used if the suspect knew they were there. _'There he goes making those decisions again. We're the same bloody rank. Then again, rather him this close than me.'_

The brunette slowly and cautiously made her way back to her girlfriend and Christian, where she could hear Shannon joking that he never listened to her. Shannon was standing behind a rather thick tree truck, the Islander at her feet resting. Stella was bent at the waist trying to catch her breath. The Senior Sergeant let her hand grip the branch in front of her. When Christian turned away, a lone finger ran a course down Stella's cheek lightly. Shannon received a smile in return. Next to the cool metal of Stella's cross resting against her chest, a smile from the girl was the only thing that could make Shannon remember to breathe and take a moment to run through things in her head.

"So what do you reckon?" asked Shannon. It was barely eight o'clock in the morning and there was that sweet sticky feeling of exercising in the rain. She was sweaty and tired and her uniformed was covered in dirt. It was getting to be rather uncomfortable.

"I think it's a meth lab or they're growing dope. It's definitely something worth protecting."

She had a point. Christian looked up at them from his place on the ground.

"Well if you saw a van, there has got to be a road out of here somewhere."

"Want me to check it out?" asked Stella. She began slowly backing away as her girlfriend handed her the mobile and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, and can you call Lawson and give him a road sign or a landmark, anything that will help and call base?"

"Yep, I'll get the GPS and bring it back too," said Stella. When she turned there was a soft pat on her arse. _'Can't resist, even in this kind of situation.'_

"Yeah, yeah, good. Go." Shannon watched her go for the second time in less than five minutes. Stella disappeared behind a tree and Shannon lost sight of her, so she turned to do a quick check of the area around them. "Fuck, I hate the bush."

Stella was running as fast as she could. The road the van had taken was running parallel to her route roughly a hundred metres to her left. The phone was in her right hand and she planned to ring when she reached a main road. Several minutes had past and she was still running. Stella finally came to the conclusion that the road must have been pretty far in. There was a faint skid on dirt and the resounding smash of a car wrapping itself around a tree. This only made her run faster.

Stella met the road moments later and she could see the white van speeding off up the road, a long cloud of dust trailing behind. To her right, Josh and Lawson were climbing out of a black station wagon to inspect the damage to the boot of the car.

"You guys alright?" asked Stella.

"Prick! That van came out of nowhere," said Josh.

"Yeah, that's them. They're shooting at us. I reckon it's a gang or a meth lab or a dope crop or something. Do you have the GPS on you?" Stella spoke in a flurry of words. The hangover the boys were sporting wasn't helping them to understand the little brunette.

"No," answered Josh. He nearly regretted going to the pub the night before. Nearly.

"Well where's TR? What are you doing with that car?" asked Stella. She felt like a mother yelling a their teenage children for something stupid.

"Don't ask."

They all turned and took off running in the direction Stella had just come from. She had been running downhill on a light angle so it was a whole hell of a lot easier heading to the road than it was running back up to the caravan, especially with all the mud on the road. She briefed them on the way back.

"Did you have a good night Stel?" asked Lawson sarcastically. His first words since she had found them with a tree up their arse.

"Oh yeah it was great. No food, no heat, nothing dry. It was fantastic," she joked as she ran. There was a light cough of fog something from all three of them as they ran. "On the upside I found out how good of a snuggler Shannon is."

Stella smirked and Josh let out a bark of laughter. Lawson decided to keep him mouth shut when it came to the relationship between the two women. A green shed came into view as they rounded a thick row of trees. The caravan was fifty metres in front of them. Stella could see the glare of Michael's binoculars and waved a hello in recognition. Shannon and Christian had joined him closer to the caravan.

"Okay, I got Lawson, Josh and Stella," Michael announced.

"Thank God!" Relief washed over her as Stella sprinted from tree to tree with Lawson and Josh right behind her, her paintball gun drawn and held to her chest. There was a moment of hesitation, a moment that they could stop and check it out before moving. With a quiet word from the brunette to the two men, they began moving to clear the shed and caravan.

"Well, I reckon we're clear to make an approach," said Michael, packing his binoculars away and turning to Christian. "You right?"

The Samoan grunted and moved to get up. Three steps later and a loud ding-dong echoed throughout the small valley, the four uniformed officers sprinted for cover, Josh and Lawson only doing to so when Stella yelled at them. Shot after shot was fired and for some reason it didn't seem like it was going to stop like it had previously.

"Shots are coming from the green shed," said Stella to the boys, her head poking out from behind her tree.

"There's a rhythm," said Shannon, watching as Christian counted them off. Not only did it sound like a gun shot, but it was like someone was banging a piece of tin with a stick and playing it over a loud speaker.

"Josh!" Stella yelled.

The Senior Sergeant rushed forward having noticed the rhythm. The shed door was ajar and he shouldered his way in. Lawson took his place from where they had been hiding. Then the shots simply stopped. A tense moment past in silence as they all waited. Josh came out brandishing a rifle from scope.

"There!"

The entire group let out a sigh of relief and headed forward. Stella was laughing ("Oh, bloody hell!") while Christian was still stumbling a little from the explosion. Paintball guns were holstered and everyone gathered around for a closer inspection. Michael kept an eye on Christian, Stella headed to the shed and Josh, Lawson and Shannon disappeared into the caravan.

"Watch your step!" warned Lawson. Shannon looked down to see a motion sensor on the bottom step and had to cautiously step over it onto the second step to get in. "This guy loves his sensors. Uses them to trigger everything. Rifles, explosives, cameras."

"He was watching us the whole time," stated Shannon, her mind momentarily jumping to the brief make out session she had had with Stella the night before. If this guy went to trial she hoped that these tapes weren't going to be used as evidence.

"Yeah, they're automatic. He was tracking you," said Josh as he rifled through the drawers and cupboards, looking for anything useful. Shannon had turned to stare at Josh as Lawson took at quick look at the camera footage paused on the screen when Stella yelled out.

"Hey, check this out!" The door was being held open to let the light in. "How in the hell did Josh miss this when he came in?"

"It was dark." That seemed to justify it for Lawson.

Standing there in the corner of the green shed were three kegs and a whole lot of wiring and hosing. Shannon groaned. "D.I.Y. Bombs. This is some serious shit."

"Steel kegs, perfect container for a bomb," said Lawson.

"Yeah and the van was stacked up with them," said Stella.

"Did you phone it in to Kerry?"

"Michael's done it," answered Shannon, her head disappearing back into the shed as she looked at the explosives.

"So where do you reckon this freak's going?" asked Stella, turning to Lawson as he pulled out his phone. She turned to Shannon as Josh came around the corner. "I reckon he's looking for another hiding spot."

"I don't think he wants to hide anymore," said Josh, waving the piece of paper he had in his hand. "Suicide note. He's heading for the city."

The four of them shared an 'oh shit!' look and Lawson hurried to find a spot in the immediate area that had some reception. He needed to call Kerry and let her know. As a highly trained police unit, they were currently at a serious disadvantage. The training team had watched their suspect loading the kegs into the van, but couldn't get a rego or a make and model. Josh and Lawson had nearly had a rear-end collision with him but still didn't get anything from it except that the guy was in a hurry.

"Alright guys," said Lawson, gathering his team together. "I've just talked to Kerry and clarified the situation. What we have is one suspect in a white van full of steel keg bomb heading to the city. He's not exactly going to stand out but Kerry's getting Leon to organise road blocks and all of the city cops are on alert. We need to get back there a.s.a.p."

"How far away is TR?" asked Michael.

"A couple k's back down the main road so we're going to have to run it. This is top priority today, so let's move it guys." Lawson quickly called Kerry back to see if Leon had found anything on the van before he had called. "Keep me posted. Let's go."

And with that the group took off running down the muddy track classified as a road, back to the main road. Three kilometres of running in silence made Stella feel like she was back at the academy again. Michael looked as if he was having slightly difficulty keeping up after his tumble the day before and Christian was stumbling along behind them, still slightly disoriented.

"I'm getting too old for this shit," said Josh, huffing and puffing as they finally reached the cars. With jokes aside, the six team members set about changing into the appropriate gear for the day. Josh and Lawson had all but stripped down and pulled on their TR uniforms before both hopped into the passenger seat of the cars. The team that had been out in the bush all night removed their jumpers and replaced their shirts, brushed off their vests and reloaded them with all the necessary equipment such as weapons, extra magazines, flex-cuffs and comms systems.

"Stella and Michael in TR2 with Josh. You two with me," ordered Lawson, as Michael and Christian grabbed their cold hotdogs and jumped in the drivers seats. Stella and Shannon were both in the back seat. It was an hour's drive but they planned to speed with lights and sirens down to the freeway and then into the city. It was going to be a pain in the arse for the entire police force to be searching the CBD and surrounding areas for a single white van full of bombs.

They all let out yawns as they hit the freeway.

"Did Lawson say we're not going back to base," asked Stella as she finished her poor breakfast and hooked her earpiece over and in.

"Yep," said Josh. His voice gave away his attitude. He was already in full TR mode.

"Well, yep we're not, or yep we are?"

"Not."

Minutes later they could hear Lawson speaking over the comms to Leon. "Alright Leon, what do you have?"

"The property is owned by an Oliver Ginsburg. He owns a white van and I'm sending out the rego now."

"Alright Leon, look for any possible grudges he might have; political affiliations; ex-girlfriends; I don't know anything he might want to blow up."

"Yeah, will do."

"You put ex-girlfriends under the banner of 'things you want to blow up," said Stella. Shannon chuckled from her seat in the back of TR1 as Lawson looked over his shoulder at her but remained silent. Stella was in the process of asking Josh where he had slept the night before and pulling ticks from her neck when Leon came back over. The rest of the team didn't need to know that they had gone out drinking, Lawson had gotten laid and Josh had gotten high.

"Patrol car just found a white van dumped in Marshall Park, West Melbourne. The rego matches our guy."

"Leon, tell these uniforms to set up a perimeter but to hang back okay?" Lawson leaned forward and switched on the lights and sirens again. Ten minutes and light city traffic later they were surrounding the offending vehicle. Just as they were told the uniforms were hanging back and there were several bystanders waiting to get to their cars.

The TR vehicles pulled to a stop and they immediately fanned out around the van. Christian and Shannon were given the job of opening the van up to be searched. Stella was ten feet behind Shannon, crouching behind a car and the Senior Sergeant crept up to the driver's side door, her eyes on the side mirror to make sure there was no one still in there. Christian was by to the back door, ready to open it so Michael could search it.

After a quick check underneath the van and a nod from Lawson, Shannon nodded to Stella, signalling that she was ready. The Senior Sergeant pulled the door open swiftly. Two shouts of clear came from Stella and Michael and everyone moved forward.

"It's empty."

"No driver, no bomb Kerry," said Lawson. Everyone moved in with their weapons still drawn for a further inspection. There was no sign that there had ever been any explosives in the van, however there were several feet of hosing hanging from the side of the van.

"Guys!" Lawson yelled. The entire team gathered around the hood of TR1 where Lawson was standing with a Melways open. Shannon and Stella were on opposite sides of the car and even though they were focussed on what they were discussing, Stella couldn't help but admire the messiness that was her girlfriend. She looked adorable in Stella's opinion. When Shannon caught her eye, the brunette gave her a wink and there was a small smile threatening to pull at the corners of Shannon's mouth.

"Alright, this is our search area based on how far he would get on foot with that amount of material."

"How many kegs did he have," asked Josh.

"Eight, maybe ten." Stella let out a soft laugh. "Those things were fuckin' heavy. What I want to know is why you guys didn't see the rego if he ran you off the road."

There was a soft silence and Christian chuckled.

"What if he transferred them to another car?" asked Shannon, pulling the book towards her slightly to re-define the search area.

"I've got Leon checking the cameras on that for possibilities at the moment," he said. "Let's go."

Josh, Stella and Michael began a search of the immediate area to see if anything was out of the ordinary in the car park. TR1 drove off to begin searching the area in the directory. Shannon was driving this time.

"So why didn't you see the rego?" asked Michael.

"He was going too fast to get a good look," said Josh, walking faster.

"But he was coming towards you," retorted Stella.

"Stel, Stel, Stella. Maybe they were too busy taking down a licence plate," suggested Michael, over the comms.

"Didn't get a good look," Lawson barked over the system, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He passed right in front of you," said Shannon.

Now everyone was ganging up on the two men about the subject. If they weren't careful they were going to get busted. By going to the pub they had gone against protocol and could get suspended for their actions.

"Oh, you didn't get the licence plate," remarked Michael, peering around a car.

"You finished?" asked the leader.

"You didn't notice anything about him. That's amazing," joked the brunette, running down a dirt hill to catch up to Michael.

"When the van ran us off the road, we were driving in reverse." Josh turned to look at then, trying to get them to shut up with just one look. He figured out that he was losing his touch when Stella and Michael laughed at him. He could hear Shannon giggling over the comms system.

"This sucks. I want bath, bed, couch, chocolate, DVD's," said Stella as they reached the end of the parking lot.

"Kerry, we got nothing but abandoned shopping trolley's here."

"Alright hold on a sec guys, I got something I want you to hear. Our man frequents a pub that might be familiar to you Lawson, Josh. You might even remember him, though I doubt it. The Picking Goose? Front bar, last night? Apparently you bought him a drink, Lawson. I doubt you remember it."

"You were at the pub," smiled Stella, speaking over her comms as she went. "Bastards."

"I'm not sure what you mean Kerry."

"Oh, I've just been chatting to a couple of girls. Marinda Boyle and Crystal Frankman. Miss Frankman says that you had some, and I quote, 'pretty intense sex'." Nearly everyone let out a 'woah' over the comms just as Lawson's eyes slid shut. "There's more if you want more."

"Still there Lawson?" asked Leon.

"Yeah."

"I've counted ten ticks, Michael slept with a sheep, we froze our tits off and you guys-,"

"Did Audrey say mining engineer?" asked Josh, effectively stopping Stella in the middle of her rant.

"Ah yeah," answered Leon. "Mining engineer retired."

"Don't try and change the subject Josh." Stella was once again stopped in her tracks when Josh pulled him weapon from its holster, raising it towards a grated door. She followed him and understood what he was getting at. There were drag marks in the dirt leading up to the door. As they worked their way into the tunnel, several uniforms watching them from a distance, they turned on their torches and found another sensor and a device that looked like a small explosive.

"Lawson, you gotta get back here."

"Why? What is it?"

"He's under the city. The bombs under the city. Kerry are you getting this?" asked Josh, leaning down just a bit to have his camera get a good look at the device.

It didn't take TR1 long to get back to Marshall Park and join the others in the tunnel. As Lawson and Josh discussed over what to do, Shannon and Stella hung to the back of the group, their fingers touching gently in comfort. The situation had escalated quickly and they were mostly likely going to be put into negotiations with this crazy guy. There were only so many options from there and most of them would end badly. Stella wanted nothing more than to turn around and walk out of the tunnel with Shannon and go home to a hot bath and a warm bed. She was getting too sappy for her job.

There were miles of tunnels under the city of Melbourne, so trying to locate a small bomb was going to be difficult. The bomb squad was already on standby, simply waiting for a location. Leon was taking the piss out of Josh and Lawson over their activities from the previous night after their 'dates' had shown up at the TR office. They left Josh to deal with the IED and moved on, stepping over the sensors light as to not trigger to the small explosive.

Several times they had run into a trip wire connected to a sawn-off shotgun or another IED. There were at least three more IED's with sensors on their journey. They moved in a tight pack of five, each with a specific area to keep watch of as they moved. Stella was directly behind her girlfriend as the Senior Sergeant had the biggest torch. That was until there was a shuffled down another tunnel to their left and Stella picked up on it.

"Lawson."

"Michael, go with her," said the team leader.

"Yep."

It was all of ten seconds when they spotted someone climbing a short ladder to the street's surface. "STOP! Police!" After she yelled, Stella had to wonder why they had to warn the suspect to stop if they're just going to keep running. She and Michael quickly followed him up to the street. The group of five had become a trio, and Lawson, Shannon and Christian continued with their search of the tunnels.

They came out into a busy city street; there were endless possibilities as to where the guy had gone. He could have disappeared into thin air with the amount of people that were gathered around in the immediate area. Cops didn't usually spring out from underground.

"Split up. You go that way?" asked Stella, pointing up the street before running back down in the opposite direction. Minutes passed and a conversation over insurance later, Michael announced over their comms that he knew where the bomb was but that it was too difficult to explain how. His coordinates were then sent to the team in the tunnels.

"Which way Leon?" asked Lawson. They had come across another T-intersection.

"Sending it to you now."

Lawson's phone beeped in acknowledgement and he pulled it out to check the message. The Senior Sergeant had several moments of pondering which way to go when Shannon took over. "Here, let me have a look. It's back this way. It's back this way."

"How'd you get that so fast?" asked Christian.

"Call it a woman's intuition," she joked, her Glock raised again to continue searching.

A few minutes later Leon came back over the comms. "You're getting very warm Lawson."

Just as Shannon began to descend a flight of stairs, her boss called her back to a door just off to the left from the stairs. Christian disappeared back up to the surface to find the bomb squad and Shannon and Lawson positioned themselves at the doorway. Hopefully the doorway wasn't rigged to blow. Shannon didn't want her last words to Stella to be something about Lawson.

"I'll go first."

"Don't you always," said Shannon, as she readied herself. Lawson simply looked at her. "Too intense?"

He just looked at her as if he was taking in what she had said. "Set?"

"Yep."

He pushed the door open and when the explosion she had been waiting for didn't happen, Shannon let out the breath she had been holding. Following him in, they did a quick sweep of the immediate area but became sidetracked after turning a corner when they spotted the objects they had been looking for.

"Holy shit," she muttered.

"No shit. Alright, switch off your comms."

"Thirteen." Thirteen kegs was thirteen too many as far as Shannon was concerned. But from Stella and Michael's intel on how many they had seen loaded into the van, they had underestimated it by three to five kegs. This was the part of the job Shannon hated; being this close to something that could go off at any moment. Sure they risked their lives every time they put on the uniform, but there was something about a remote activated explosive device that put her on edge. She could see it was affecting Lawson as he took photos with his phone.

"Let's get back up the top." He took off sprinting and out a nearby door, ending up not far from when Stella and Michael had chased their suspect out into the street. "Kerry, you there? There's thirteen steel kegs connected to a probably remote activated device. Possibly an anti-handling mechanism connected as well. I'm going to send the photos through to you now. Hey, if they are full of anfo, I don't need to tell you that we have a serious problem down here."

As Kerry took it all in and told them to get out of there, the two officers heeded her warning and mad a dash for the nearest exit to the surface.

Stella was standing in the courtyard looking up at a building with Michael and Josh. She was waiting for the rumbling underneath her feet and to see the dark coloured building in front of her to come tumbling down in a scene of rubble and chaos and dust. She was praying that if it went off Shannon wasn't anywhere near it. "How many kegs do you think it would take to bring this building down?"

"Depends what's in it. I blew up a minibus with a container the size of a footy. Blew it twenty feet in the air," said Josh, a grim look on his face. He went back to studying the eight storey building.

Stella widened her eyes and looked to Michael. He was wearing the same expression. "You really need a hobby."

He scoffed and turned at the yell of his name. The bomb squad had arrived and had begun to pull out their equipment when Dom had yelled out and waved. To say they were surprised had been an understatement. Apparently Kerry and Leon hadn't noticed yet; if they had, there would have been a serious of 'oh my God's' over the comms. "You have to be kidding me."

Dom went back to pulling out the equipment only to stop and shake Lawson's hand. Then came the 'oh my God's'. Michael drifted away from Stella and Josh to shake Dom's hand as well, having disagreed with Lawson and Kerry on their call to boot him from the team. He had been the only one and Shannon looked hesitant to trust his judgement after he had exploded and shot TR2. Christian was feeling dejected after they had discussed the technique in which the kegs had been filled and stacked and he had been told off.

"Michael!" Josh yelled. He had to sprint to catch up to him and Stella as they entered 310 A'Beckett Street and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor for the insurance company that had sued Oliver Ginsburg. Their comms were open so they could hear what was being explained. The kegs had been stacked against a main support pillar underneath the building. If it blew, the entire building would come down from the lack of support.

"Okay, Josh, I just want a quick assessment of the situation and then I want you out of there," instructed Kerry.

"Yeah, just gonna have a look now."

Entering the floor for HPL insurance, Stella walked around a corner and found Oliver Ginsburg holding a remote detonator and a handgun, eleven or twelve hostages backed up against the far desk. Josh stopped Michael and sent him around the other end of the set of desks to find another way in. Stella pulled her gun to cover them.

"I hate bombers," she muttered to Josh.

"We got a hostage situation on the fourth floor."

"Any sign of Ginsburg?" asked Lawson.

"Hold on."

Together they rushed forwards, yelling for Ginsburg to get onto the ground along with the hostages. When they saw the bomb strapped to his chest, Josh ordered them to pull back. Ginsburg obviously felt very confident and comfortable with the current situation because he was resorting to sarcasm to deal with the negotiations that were going to take place. "Oh, careful officer. If you shoot me, I just might have to let go of this little button, here."

"Sir, if you stay calm, we can sort this out," said Josh.

"No one's calmer than me," said Ginsburg.

'_Yeah until things don't go your way,'_ thought Stella, raising her gun just that little bit more. Eventually she holstered her weapon after Josh whispered for her to take on the negotiations. The last time she had been the lead negotiator was the day her girlfriend at the time Alana had been attacked by the son of the witness protection participant they were supposed to be protecting. Sure she knew Shannon was safe and could defend herself at lot more easily than Alana, but that didn't stop the dread dropping to sit uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. Silently cursing him to hell, she did it without verbal argument. "Mister Ginsburg is it?"

"Oliver."

"Hi, Oliver," she smiled.

"I didn't quite catch your name. I know him. Josh, the picture framer. You must have a sore head."

"My name is Stella Dagostino," she said. _'Not that it really makes a difference.'_

"Well, Stella. I'll work with you to reduce all unnecessary casualties. I am aware of the various negotiating techniques you will use in order to get me away from what I want. And I just want to tell you it's not going to work." His cockiness made her want to take her pistol and put a bullet between his eyes.

"Well all I want is to reduce all unnecessary casualties so we're off to a good start." She smiled at him. It dropped when he decided to take the piss just a little. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he was treating it like a day the park.

"You've achieved a common ground with me! Well done. Tick," he scoffed, walking back towards his hostages. "Next, I suspect you'll have you I.T. guy get some information on me; use it against me maybe."

"Well we could cut out the I.T. guy and you could just tell me yourself."

There was a long pause before her earpiece spurred to life and all she got was the end of a sentence from Lawson before he moved on. "-Dom's arse. Kerry we can't let this happen."

"Yeah I know, but there's not much we can do. It's the Bomb Squad's call."

"Michael, where are you?" asked Josh subtly into his microphone.

"I'm just on the other side of the wall. I can see the hostages," he explained.

"Can you get through?"

"Yeah I think so, just keep him chatting."

"Can we talk about those people you have in there?" asked Stella, effectively keeping Ginsburg's attention on her after he didn't reply about the personal information question.

"Oh they're not people. They're accountants and lawyers," he smiled smugly at his own joke. "Hey Stella?"

"Hmmm."

"Have I caused a bit of chaos out there?" he asked, walking back towards the hostages.

"Not really." She smiled forcibly. He had set up an IED that blew up in Christian's face, he had tracked them through the night, had set up a rifle to shoot at them when they accidentally walked into the path of one of his sensors, run Josh and Lawson off the road and led them on a wild goose chase through the city for most of the day.

"No?"

"No, not at all." There was a hint of sarcasm to her tone as she walked forward, matching Ginsburg step for step as her moved backwards. Michael was just on the other side of the wall trying to work off a panel to get hostages out. If he was discovered, whatever rapport Stella had developed would be thrown out the window and go straight to hell. "How about we start with the women?"

"Women and children first." He began to laugh "Like a sinking ship. Have you lost all hope Stella?"

"_I_ haven't no, but that's up to you I think."

"You see that's not exactly true. See, I actually have no control over this." He shrugged and Stella was confused. "It's in the hands of your colleagues downstairs."

"What do you mean? Is there another booby-trap Oliver?"

Let me say this; even if they find the right wire to cut, that will set me off; certainly killing all of these not so innocent people here as well as you and I, of course. But then let's say you, or even you," he pointed from Stella to Josh, "or one of your little snipers up there takes a shot at me, I release the dead man's switch, detonating the bomb downstairs killing all of your colleagues downstairs and bringing the _entire_ building down."

Thoughts began to flood Stella's mind. Mainly of Shannon, but of her family as well. Her parents, her brothers, her sisters-in-law even if she didn't like one of them, her nephews. Josh was standing behind her and she could feel similar emotions coming off her in waves. She had no idea who was actually under the building inspecting the kegs but she was silent praying for them while trying to figure out how to get back to the surface. She was beginning to drown in the complexity of the situation and all of its consequences.

"You see, it's either us or them. And it's your choice Stella."

Michael's voice came over the comms as he explained everything to Kerry and Christian quietly so Lawson could know. At Josh's request, Kerry had told them who was in the subbasement of the building. Lawson. Dom. Tom. Things weren't going to plan on the fourth floor. Even though the police force was willing to give him the money under the guise of the insurance company, Ginsburg specifically named one of his hostages to get the money for him, along with a free ride out of the city. When Josh had taken the accountant down to the ground level, he flat out refused to go back up there.

As they began to broach the topic of why Ginsburg was doing what he was doing, Josh returned with the money but not the accountant, after Stella had promised a personal apology from him. Minutes later he discovered Michael helping the hostages out of a hole in wall panelling. Shannon had arrived only moments before and popped out from behind the wall, her gun pointed at Ginsburg as he pointed his at Michael's head.

As she tried to regain what little control she had originally had, Stella could feel the emotion rising throughout her. She didn't want to die.

"We got you your money. Nothing had changed here," she said, emphasising it until he relented, dropping his gun from Michael's head. She sighed softly. Shannon and Josh still had their guns raised.

"You're right, nothing's changed here." And with that, he let the dead man's switch on his remote device go ready for the bomb to explode and finish the day off.

Stella growled and reached for the device, falling to the ground with him in an attempt to keep the switch in. "OLIVER!" She landed next to him, her hands covering his.

"Covering! Get out! Get out!" Michael ordered to the hostages, who quickly scattered towards the stairs.

Josh told Ginsburg to let go strongly, until he did. "Oh dear. Nothing's happened. Someone must have moved my bomb." Stella made a move to stand, her hands gripping the device tightly stopping as he spoke.

"What does that mean?" asked Josh, grabbing the back of Ginsburg's jacket threateningly.

"It means you're all safe up here with me."

"Christian, tell Lawson to get out of there now!" ordered Kerry.

"How do we defuse it?"

Ginsburg simply laughed into the carpeted floor as a pair of flex-cuffs were fitted around his wrists. "I actually have no control over either of them now. They've triggered the anti-handling mechanism. It overrides my signal."

"Alright everyone else out," Josh ordered. They made to move.

"What about you?" asked Stella.

"I'm going to find out what I need to know."

"Josh!" Shannon scolded.

"Get out!"

The Senior Sergeant could match his order, but the tone of his voice proved that he was not to be messed with at the moment. Both women stared him down, failing when Stella gave up, grabbed the front of Shannon's vest and pulled her out. It was a brisk casual walk towards the stairs, Josh looking after them. Michael was already a floor ahead of them when they entered the stairs. Their hands immediately gravitated towards each other and intertwined tightly. Slowing down, they allowed Michael to leave the stairwell first before either of them spoke.

"If we weren't on duty right now, and the cameras weren't on, I would be doing so much more than just holding your hand," Stella whispered. She turned her head to look at her girlfriend.

"I know what you mean. I don't what I'd do if I lost you, Stel. We'll talk about it at home, okay?"

Stella nodded and squeezed her fingers before reluctantly letting go to join Michael outside.

"Where's Josh?" Kerry asked. "His camera has gone offline."

"He's upstairs with Ginsburg," Michael answered.

Stella was smiling gently; Josh breaking the rules was a typical day at work. Shannon's face was buried in her hands as she watched her girlfriend, the memories of the day still flooding her mind. She really wanted to go home with Stella, but at this point there was no way this was going to end well.

"You left him up there?"

"It was an order," he said, before turning on his heel and marching back into the building. The girls followed a moment later. The three of them basically sprinted up the stairs two at a time to the fourth floor. When Michael opened the stairwell door, Josh was standing there with a bruised, bloodied and cuffed Oliver Ginsburg.

"Get the Bomb Squad up here. The device is in the back corner."

He forced Ginsburg down the stairs where he took one last leering look at Stella. "Would you like to escort me down Stella?"

"See ya, Oliver."

Shannon smiled at Stella and watched as Josh took him down the stairs. They were both smiling proudly for a job well done, forgetting about Dom trapped underneath the triggered bomb downstairs. The Bomb Squad had come and gone and they were left waiting around outside for Lawson and Dom to come out from the basement smiling like old times. That was until there was a low rumble beneath their feat.

* * *

Her legs were too heavy to lift. They felt like they were made of lead as Shannon forced herself to climb the three stories to Stella's apartment. The past two days had been her most physically, mentally and emotionally draining days since she had started Tactical Response. She would have been able to handle their night in the bush and the hard day of training exercises if she had been able to come home and have a long, hot bath preferably with her girlfriend. But that plan had been shot to hell when one Oliver Ginsburg had decided to threaten an entire city block of people and buildings with a homemade bomb.

As she forced herself to move her legs one step at a time, the entire day ran through her head. It was something she had always done after every shift. It was her way of processing and understanding whatever had happened that shift. There was only one thing that really stood out to her about the events of their day; they were more careful than that. Dom was more careful than that. She had never wanted to be the one to go with Lawson, but Kerry had nominated her automatically. It was always one male and one female that went to a person's house to explain what went wrong, that someone wasn't coming home for dinner that night, that they would never been seen alive again. It was official: she hated being the bearer of bad news.

Her arm felt just as heavy as her legs did as she lifted it up to knock of her girlfriend's door. There was a quiet 'go away' from inside the apartment.

"Okay, but I'll take this food from that Greek place you like so much with me," Shannon said through the door. Her voice cracked slightly as she teased.

She could hear soft padding across the wood floors, the sounds growing louder as the brunette grew closer. The chains were unlocked and there was a crack in doorway. Shannon held up the two plastic bags in her hands. It felt like she was lifting dead weight. One had takeout from Stella's (and secretly her own) favourite Greek restaurant on the other side of town. The other had contents from the local bottle-o: several bottles of Shannon's favourite brand of wine.

Stella sighed and looked at the defeated look in Shannon's eyes for a moment before taking in her look. Her hair was more dishevelled than it had been when she woken up, her eyes were tired and dull. All in all, she was spent. The door opened enough to let Shannon in. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself. Why are you telling people to go away?" she asked, letting Stella take the bag of alcohol from her hands before she dropped it.

"Michael was here before. Beat me home and was sitting here waiting for me outside the door. Said something about being scared about dying today." Shannon looked at her as they entered the kitchen. "I told him to piss off. When things get to hard, he needs to stop running to me and start running to Audrey."

Shannon let out a laugh. "He really needs to move on."

"Jealous?" asked Stella with a smirk as she felt herself being pinned to her kitchen counter. Shannon's hands came to rest on her hips, Stella's drifted up her girlfriends arms and to her neck.

"Of his never ending infatuation with you? Yes."

"Technically he doesn't know I'm dating anyone, let alone you."

"I know. I know. It's just annoying as hell when he does that."

"Look at the bright side, babe," Stella started. She tilted her head and leaned forward slightly, a soft smile on her face. "I'd rather be here with you."

"Yeah?" Shannon inched forward.

"Yeah." Stella closed the remaining distance and pressed her lips to Shannon's, smiling into the kiss. It was gentle and loving with very little need for force or dominance. Stella's tongue pushed forward seeking entrance into Shannon's mouth. The older woman eagerly accepted and her hands shifted slightly, ghosting over the track suit pants Stella was wearing to grip her thighs and pull her up onto the high bench counter. Stella gasped in surprise at the move and pulled her girlfriend closer, linking her ankles across the back of Shannon's thighs and effectively trapping the woman.

Breathing heavily they pulled apart foreheads touching. "I missed that."

"Me too," sighed Stella. Her fingers raked through Shannon's dirty hair. "You need a shower."

She had not had time to shower after returning to the base from talking to Sandrine. They had spent several hours at the woman's house helping her with Gigi until family members and close friends were able to arrive. She and Lawson had been swept away by Internal Affairs to give their statements about the day's events almost as soon as they arrived. Kerry had been waiting for them and had told them to get changed and get upstairs. Shannon had to wait for over an hour for Lawson to finish his interview before it was her turn.

"Care to join me?"

Just being in the presence of her girlfriend was able to lift the stresses of a day from Shannon's shoulders. Other activities were able to remove them all together.

"What about dinner?" There was a gentle smirk on Shannon's face at the thought of skipping a much needed meal for a shared shower with Stella.

"We can always reheat."

Stella's legs tightened around Shannon as she felt herself being lifted from the bench and walked backwards to the bathroom. Stella wasn't entirely heavy but she had no idea where her copper-haired girlfriend was getting her strength from after their ten kilometre walk and tiresome emotional day. Shannon's hands so high on her legs were beginning to drive her crazy but Stella knew this was more about physical comfort for Shannon. She had been through the emotional ringer.

They paused on their way and Stella was able to turn her stereo up, the music floating through the apartment easily. Her back hit the closed bathroom door. "I love you, Shannon Henry. More than anything."

"I love you too, Stella Dagostino."

Moments later their clothes were gone and the streaming water was hot. As Stella's hands drifted over her body, tangling in her hair and rubbing the shampoo and conditioner into her scalp, Shannon could feel her fatigue and hunger finally kicking in. Stella giggled into her neck at the sound of rumbling coming from Shannon's stomach.

"Hungry?"

"Maybe a little."

"Your fingers have pruned up," Stella whispered, taking Shannon's hand in her own to inspect the damage. "And the water's getting cold."

As she helped Shannon out of the shower and wrapped her girlfriend in a warm fluffy towel, Stella realised that Shannon hadn't really spoken since she arrived. She only answered when she was talked too and made very little effort to start or maintain a conversation, offering only few words and short sentences.

"Did you wanna talk about anything?" she asked, stopping Shannon by their bed.

Shannon looked at the floor for a moment and shook her head silently before moving to rifle through the drawers for some clean clothes. Stella caught her arm before she could put any real distance between them. Gripping the edge of her towel and turning with a sigh, she caught the worried expression on her girlfriend's face.

"You know I'm not going to push to talk about...anything. But you know that if you do, I'm here, right?" Stella moved her hand from the crook of Shannon's elbow to caress her cheek. The older woman melted into the touch and a tear slipped down.

"Yeah, I know. I know," Shannon smiled sadly. "I just...I never want to be on the receiving end of that conversation. Ever. Promise me?"

"I promise."

She pulled Shannon into a hug and silently cursed herself, remembering Lawson's favourite rule when it came to negotiation.

'_Never make a promise you can't keep.'_

Stella would simply have to pray that this was one promise she could keep.

* * *

**Please don't be too harsh. It's been a while. R&R. Thanks ;)**


	16. The Authors Note

Okay so don't hate but this isn't a new chapter. This is just a little update so you know I haven't forgotten about this story. I've actually been on holidays overseas for a month, thats why I haven't uploaded another chapter recently. I am working on the next chapter, but my laptop got a virus before I left and while I was away, ate at my harddrive for a month. I lost what I had already written and all of my notes so I have to start from scratch. I'll do my best to have one up in a week. In the meantime, if you would like to request a oneshot, just leave a prompt in a review or PM me and I'll have a shot at filling your Shan and Stel cravings.

Thanks guys


	17. The Tribute

**Okay I am sorry for the wait. Had some inspirational troubles. But it's okay! I am back now! This is an actual chapter, not an authors note so yaaayyyyy. There are quite a few jumps but its not too bad. Also SEX! This is the last chapter involving anything from an episode but it is not the end. Now it's just more my ideas rather than stealing from the producers/writers/creators. LOL. It's only half beta'd so bare with me here.**

**Thanks for the reviews for the last CHAPTER.**

**In A Rush - No worries, hope this one is up to your standards. I mustered the motivation.**

**alina grech - thanks.**

**Happy Hereford - still want to marry me? hahaha. I give you sexy tiems between Shannon/Stella, just like you wanted.**

**K - that's what I was going for with the flowyness between the chapters. it was too long to post as one. other wise i'd be raising my readers standards of myself.**

**Happy Hereford - yes i'm happy. i'm also aware that i replied to you twice here.**

**Enjoy. I am definately out of Shan/Stel practice. Feel free to PM me or leave a prompt in your reviews. I'll be happy to fire off a oneshot.**

* * *

Dom had been gone for six days. His funeral was in two and the team had agreed to meet back at the base after a long afternoon nap, for a couple slabs of beer and a truckload of memories and jokes about their fallen comrade. The atmosphere at the base had dulled since the explosion. Understandably, Lawson had been particularly snappy with all of them, and barely left the base when the time came to leave for the night. He had completely shut everyone out, including Kerry. No one could really blame him, but he was beginning to become unbearable. It was worse than his obsession with Kronin.

Stella had noticed a change in her girlfriend over the past week too, since the woman had turned up at her door after seeing Sandrine. The woman had become physically clingier. The brunette wasn't exactly complaining about it when Shannon's hands would drift under her top slightly, seeking out her skin, or when she would curl around the younger woman when they were on the couch or in bed. Stella simply figured it was her coping mechanism after the conversation they had had six days prior.

Together, they trudged tiredly up the stairs to Stella's apartment, their fingers intertwined after a fourteen hour night shift. Technically the entire team had the day off to rest before their normal eight to four shift the following day. The team wouldn't be meeting until just after six that night for drinks.

"I am so tired," Shannon murmured, as they reached Stella's door. As her girlfriend fumbled with her keys, Shannon wrapped her arms around Stella's waist and pressed a kiss just below her hairline. Stella practically moaned.

"Food first, then bed," said Stella, as the door swung open and they shuffled into the apartment still joined. Her stomach rumbled. "I'm gonna get changed quickly."

Bags and shoes were left by the front door, Stella moving to her chest of drawers for some tracky pants while Shannon headed for the kitchen. Both women were struggling to keep their eyes open long enough to have some food. They hadn't eaten since midnight, and that was a hasty meal because they had been called out to a domestic disturbance. The sound of the fridge door opening and Stella padding into the kitchen in sock covered feet broke the silence that had settled over them.

Shannon was bent at the waist, sifting through the contents of Stella's bare fridge as the brunette hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter. It was a small kitchen but the two women found that they could move about easily in the confined space; they had no problem with bumping into each other, or if a hand casually began to wander because they were so close to one another. From her seat on the bench top, Stella leaned back onto the breakfast counter and let her foot reach out to trace the seam lines across the back of Shannon's jeans with a smirk.

The Senior Sergeant barely let out a gasp of surprise, and turned around to playfully glare at her giggling girlfriend. Shutting the fridge soundly, Stella's ankles became linked just above her arse and pulled her closer, and Shannon's hands scratched the brunette's thighs through the soft material of her pants. These were the little moments that Shannon had come to love; the calm and casual bits of their relationship where they didn't have to speak to have a conversation; where everything was easy and natural.

"Have I told you lately, that I love your arse in these jeans?" asked Stella, sitting up straighter to look down at Shannon. Her linked ankles dropped as her hands sunk into the back pockets of Shannon's pants, giving a gentle squeeze.

"Is that so?" Shannon matched Stella's smirk and leaned closer, nuzzling an offered cheek with her nose.

"Oh yeah. Why would I lie about something like that?" Stella had a look of seriousness upon her face. She meant business, playfully of course.

Shannon simply shrugged, going along with their little game of cheesy banter that usually ended with the two of them making out or having sex. "Your fridge is empty."

"That's because we spend all of our time at your place."

"I didn't hear you complaining the other night."

"That's because I wasn't complaining. I was screaming your name out as loud as I could. It's all your fault."

Shannon scoffed gently. They came closer together as Stella pressed her face into Shannon's neck. "My fault?"

"It's all your fault," she repeated. Stella's smile only grew as she pulled away to stare at Shannon.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"You got it."

Shannon closed the distance between the two of them and pressed her lips to Stella's, tongue gliding along a bottom lip seeking entrance. Her hands cupped Stella's neck, the tips of her fingers massaging gently. Stella granted Shannon's request and moaned as their tongues met. Pulling apart for a breath, both women rested their foreheads against each other with a soft smile.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of that," Shannon whispered.

"I know what you mean."

Shannon had noticed that silence was now a more common third party between them. It had become easier for the two of them to stay quiet during their time alone together after Shannon's admission the week before. Any topic of conversation died out between them, and they were basically resorting to goofy arguments instead of the deeper, meaningful talks. Something changed in their relationship. Shannon could tell that Stella had noticed a difference, but neither of them commented on it.

"Baby, you need a shower," muttered Stella, as she stole a quick kiss from Shannon and made a show of sniffing the air.

"Gee thanks, Stel."

"I know you didn't get one when we all got back to base because Lawson was giving you a hard time. Besides, if you go have a shower, I'll go and get some food."

"Some real food? We basically live on take-out."

"That's not entirely true." Stella scoffed, her eyes wide in mock surprise. "We made toast for breakfast yesterday."

"And we had pizza the night before, kebabs at work the day before that, Greek food at the start of the week." Shannon concentrated as she counted off the fast food meals they had shared throughout the week, pausing shortly as she remembered the meal from the day Dom had died. Stella's hands squeezed gently to get her attention. Again, they fell into the pattern of comfortable silence. There was a faint rustling of morning traffic out in the street three stories below.

"You know that I love you right?" asked Stella, her face full of seriousness and emotion. One hand came up to cup Shannon's cheek loosely. "Like,_ love you_, love you."

Shannon leaned into the soft skin and lightly calloused finger tips of Stella's hand. "Yeah I know." She smiled. "I love you, too. Like, _love you_, love you."

"Go have a shower. I'll be back in half an hour with _real_ food," Stella mocked.

"Okay. Take my car," she agreed.

"I was going to anyways."

One last kiss and Stella finally unlinked her ankles, letting Shannon move from the warm cocoon that had been created towards the bathroom for a hot shower. Stella watched from the edge of the kitchen as Shannon striped herself of her socks and jacket, and pulled her hair loose. She threw a smile in Stella's direction before disappearing into the bathroom. Seconds later water could be heard pounding against the tiles of the shower.

Stella quickly shuffled through her backpack for her phone and wallet, snatched her keys off the counter and tossed a 'be back soon, love you,' over her shoulder and left the apartment.

* * *

"Ma," complained Stella. "Remind me to kill Oskar for telling."

Half an hour later on the dot and Stella shuffled back through her front door with an armful of shopping bags and her mobile phone wedged between her shoulder and her ear. Shannon jumped up sluggishly from where she had been huddled on the couch in baggy clothes, watching a rerun of some TV show Stella couldn't remember the name of. The noise from the TV was drowned out by the heavy thudding of the contents of the bags hitting the counter top. She kicked her shoes off and made her way over to her beside tale, opening the top drawer and dropping a small box before closing it gently.

Stella didn't complain when her girlfriend directed her to stand in the corner to have her conversation, after moving to put the groceries away, as Shannon moved around the kitchen filling the cupboards and the fridge. They were both tired, but Stella had gone out to get food, while Shannon had been able to shower and relax. The least she could do was help put them away. Shannon smiled at the childish tone in her girlfriend's voice. She was glad to know that she was not the only one to talk to her mother in the same way.

"No, I was going to tell you eventually, I swear." Stella winked at Shannon as the milk dropped into the door shelf of the fridge. "Her name is Shannon. We've been together nearly eight months, but I'm sure my twerp of a brother already told you that. I'll ask her later, it's time for bed. I know it's nearly ten in the morning, but we had the night shift last night. We're tired. Ma, we're not having that talk! I'll ask her later after we've gotten some sleep. Yeah, you too Ma. Bye."

Shannon's ears perked up at the end of Stella's conversation with her mother. "Talking about me like I'm not here, eh?"

"Naturally, babe."

"What's going on? You have that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The one where it looks like you're thinking really hard," said Shannon, motioning to her girlfriend's expression.

"What? Hey!" Stella immediately went into a pout and turned her back on her girlfriend, although she wasn't able to hold it for very long. Shannon hugged her from behind, pulling her close.

All of the groceries had been stored, and they were both ready for bed (a loud yawn from the brunette blocked out the hum of the TV again). "You look tired. You didn't get your usual nap in the car last night."

"How do you know that? We were in different cars."

"I asked Josh if he tied you to the grate and got Christian to slam on the brakes. He said not yet."

"Just the thought of him planning another prank makes me glad we have a week off. I need some food. I know you do." As if on cue, Shannon's stomach growled. "Time for dinner."

"Breakfast."

Stella shrugged. "Same thing."

* * *

"You're doing that staring thing again," Shannon mumbled into her pillow. Her eyes were still closed, the early afternoon sun streaming through the window onto her face. She blinked rapidly to try and block it out. When the blurry outlines settled, Shannon could see Stella resting her head on her elbow with a soft smile on her face.

"What staring thing?"

"That thing you do when you think I'm asleep."

One of Stella's eyebrow rose. "How long have you been _pretending_ to be asleep?"

"How long have you been staring?" Shannon groaned as she turned over from her stomach to her side, pushing both hands under her pillow and burrowing back under the covers. Stella let her hand snaked up to cup Shannon's neck, her thumb tickling her bottom lip.

"Touché," Stella agreed, before making a childish comment that made Shannon smile and begin to chuckle. She got her revenge when her slightly cold hand snuck under Stella's singlet. Stella gasped when she spoke, her voice become higher. "But I asked first."

Shannon's eyes slid open from hiding against the sunlight, she squinted at the intrusion. "Hmmm...," Shannon paused. "How long have we been dating?"

"You know the answer to that."

"I'm half asleep. Humour me," Shannon chuckled. She snuggled in closer to Stella, using her girlfriends shadow to keep the sunlight from her eyes.

"Eight months."

"Then that is how long I have been pretending to be sleep."

"Since our first date?" asked Stella, not hiding her surprise. Shannon nodded and her hand slipped just a little higher along Stella's ribcage.

"And just how long have you been staring?" A smug grin came across Stella's face. When she didn't answer, one of Shannon's eyes snuck open to spot the toothy smile. "Since our first date?"

"Yeah," the brunette snickered. "What can I say? I just like looking at you."

"So that's all I'm good for?"

"If I say yes?"

Shannon weighed her options before speaking. "No sex."

"Yeah right," Stella scoffed. "You're a bigger horndog than I am. And If I say no?"

Shannon's hand slid just a little higher. She smirked when Stella bit her lip to concentrate on their conversation. "We'll see," she whispered, pressing her lips up against Stella's. Her tongue reached out, brushing against Stella's bottom lip, seeking entrance into her girlfriend's mouth. Smiling into the kiss, Stella moaned and eagerly accepted Shannon's request for entrance. Shannon's finger tickled the skin and ribs underneath her hand, inching higher and higher towards Stella's chest, before abruptly ending their kiss and pulling her hand out from underneath the thin material. "What do you say?"

"What do I say to what?" Stella whispered, her attention only focussed on one particular thing as she leant back towards Shannon. Every time she attempted to kiss her girlfriend, the other woman would lean back and throw her a cheeky grin. "Stop teasing me, woman!"

"I guess I can accept that answer," she said. "For now."

Stella's head dipped down for a single brief kiss.

"Now who's the tease?" Shannon pouted.

"I have a present for you," the brunette exasperated. "Is that good enough?"

"Present? Did I forget a date or something?" Shannon began musing to herself, Stella's movement going unnoticed as she rolled over towards her bedside table. Their legs and ankles were tangled together, making just a little bit more difficult for Stella to reach into the drawer. "It's not my birthday. There isn't a holiday. No anniversary. What am I missing?"

Shannon continued to ramble under her breath for nearly two minutes while Stella pushed herself up to sit again the brick wall that was her bed head, a humoured grin adorning her face. She let her girlfriend run through things aloud as she played with Shannon's messy bed hair with one hand. The corners of the small deep blue box that was barely five centimetres long, were digging into her palm slightly as her hand rested in her lap.

"Shan." There was no answer from the woman, so Stella spoke with a little more force. "Shannon."

"Hmmm, what?"

"Does there have to be a reason to warrant me getting you a present? What if I just want to spoil you because I love you?"

"I guess that's a good enough reason." Shannon still wasn't entirely convinced. Despite the natural ease in their relationship that she knew they both felt, she was still trying to adjust to the level of attention Stella lavished upon her.

"Damn straight it is," Stella agreed. Shannon's eyes lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning. "Here."

Stella held the box out towards Shannon. The only complaint Shannon had was that she had to remove an arm from the warmth created by the doona cover. With a quick question look at the brunette, Shannon sat the box on Stella's stomach and went about removing the lid from its counterpart. She gasped slightly when she could finally make out the glint of sliver shining back at her.

"You're giving me a key?"

Stella nodded quietly, picking out the right words before she spoke. Sure she had traded keys with former girlfriends and boyfriends in the past, but Shannon meant more to her than all of them put together.

"We've been together for a while. We spend all of our time together, so I figured that it would make it a little easier if you had a key. To this place." Stella was shy and timid as she spoke, her lip wedged between her teeth.

Shannon was hesitant to accept the small piece of hardware. The sudden shock death of Dom had definitely shocked her to the core. It was a harsh wakeup call to the reality of their job, that the risk of losing a team member, a friend, a lover, was severely high. After the childhood abuse she had experienced from her father, Shannon had developed issues with her ability to trust people. As a result of her losing trust in people, she had built walls around her heart to keep people out. Now Stella was asking to come in. Starting in her teen years, Shannon Henry had struggled with commitment. In a way, taking the key was cementing their relationship. It scared her.

Stella could see the hesitation in Shannon's eyes, even though she could barely see the brown orbs. Her brow furrowed. Shannon shuffled up far enough to rest her head on Stella's stomach, the angle she was lying on the bed shifting, and the brunette sunk her fingers the copper locks, massaging the scalp beneath.

"Hey," she whispered, "Hey."

Shannon tilted her head back to look up. A few beats went past in silence. Stella raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"His death was a wakeup call. It's proof how quickly I could lose you. One thing happens, one thing goes wrong, and you're gone. Accepting the key...it means that we're at that stage in our relationship where I'm getting more and more attached. And when I get attached to someone, I lose them. Sandrine's reaction was a reminder of that."

Stella provided a sympathetic smile.

"I know it's, ahh, a little unexpected. I'm not asking you to move in, despite the fact that we practically live together already, or to get married, or to commit completely. I'm just...opening myself up a little bit more. You don't have to accept it. It was just a thought."

Stella could feel Shannon watching her, studying her as she swallowed. The bed moved as Shannon sat up properly, her legs become entirely free of Stella's. Gently, she straddled Stella's lap and placed the closed box on top of the bedside table, the key's surface glinting from its resting place on the box's lid.

"I'll attach it to my key chain later." Stella's hands came to rest low on Shannon's hips, tickling the skin through the tracky pants, fingernails scraping over her arse. Shannon rocked forward and her voice dropped a few octaves. "Right now, I think I should thank you for opening yourself up that little bit more. And for the thought."

Stella watched as Shannon's eyes became hooded. She could tell it wasn't shadows created by the sunlight. Now probably wasn't the best time to ask Shannon to meet her parents. The older woman of the two clasped her hands behind Stella's neck, pulling her in for a searing kiss. Their tongues melded together and neither was sure who moaned, but they didn't stop to ask. When Stella broke the kiss to begin a trail down Shannon's neck, Shannon pulled at the pull string of the tracky pants the brunette was wearing, loosening the knot enough to be able to slip her hand in, tracing Stella through her undies and meeting a growing wetness.

"Hmm baby," Stella groaned, her breaths becoming ragged.

"Shift down," Shannon whispered, removing her hand momentarily, moving backwards across the bed and pulling Stella with her.

The pants were discarded carelessly over Shannon's shoulder as soon as they were free of Stella's legs. Both women had sly, wolfish grins gracing their faces. Shannon was still kneeling over the brunette, whose hands had glided underneath the borrowed top, pushing it up in her haste to rid Shannon's body of it. It soon followed the pair of pants before it and Shannon's breasts were freed, Stella's mouth quickly taking on perky nipple into her mouth.

"Take this off."

Stella obliged and allowed Shannon to help her remove her own top; her mouth returning to lavish the same level of attention on Shannon's other nipple the moment she was free of the thin material. With a wet pop, Stella's lips left the pale skin and she felt herself landing on the mattress with a bounce. Seconds later, Shannon was settling herself against her. Her hips rocked out involuntarily as their chests connected, and a tongue drew a lazy pattern across her neck, distracting her from the sensations of fingers.

"Yummy," Shannon breathed, her fingers once again disappearing below the waistband of the only piece of clothing her girlfriend had on.

For Stella, Shannon's hands were moving painstakingly slow, and a heavy thudding had developed deep in her belly. Her hips jerked, craving the contact just a little lower. Her whole body was humming in anticipation. "Hurry up."

"Always the impatient one," said Shannon, her hand stilling as she pulled back to drink in the sight of Stella, eyes glazed over, begging quietly for Shannon to go just a little further. Her hand continued its journey, delving into the slickness that was Stella with two fingers.

Stella's head pushed back into the pillows as Shannon entered her, a gasp falling from her lips. A slow rhythm began, building up speed and pressure and the number of moans and groans that echoed throughout the apartment. Shannon's thumb connected with Stella's now over sensitized clit, encouraging the woman squirming beneath her to rock her hips and meet Shannon's fingers.

Shannon could feel the pulsing between her own legs growing stronger, more impatient with every thrust into Stella. The walls around her fingers were getting tighter, and slid in and out with expertise. Since their first sexual encounter with each other, they had both learnt how to push the other towards release. They knew how to make it long and slow and passionate, or desperately hard and fast. Right now, the pace Shannon had set was between the two.

She added a third finger and sped up a tiny bit, Stella moaning from the sensations, Shannon moaning along at the feeling around her fingers. Her hand jerked roughly and bought Stella to a quick shuddering orgasm. Her breath was shaky as Shannon's hand continued to move within her slowly, her walls clamping down hard as she came down from her high. Shannon collapsed against her, more from frustration than release, and kissed Stella softly.

Her fingers slid from Stella seconds later and she raised her hand to lick some of the juices cascading down her wrist. "It's a good thing we have two hours before we have to meet the boys."

"We're having sex and you're thinking about the boys?" asked Stella, slightly breathless.

"No," she disagreed and grinned wickedly. "I'm thinking of what we could do in the shower in that time before we have to leave to meet the boys."

The thoughts suddenly dawned on Stella, as she leaned back on her elbows, mouth hanging open while Shannon stood from the bed and stripped off the rest of her clothing. Within seconds, she had walked away from the bed completely nude and into the bathroom for the second time that day. Water could be heard hitting the tiles shortly after that.

"Are you going to join me or do I have to take care of this myself?" Shannon teased.

Stella was up and hurrying into the bathroom on weak legs, trying not to trip as she attempted to remove her soaked undies.

* * *

Stella walked around the corner, arms full of three large pizza's, her wallet, phone and house keys sitting on the top next to the garlic bread. Shannon had left her at one of the best pizzeria's in Melbourne, just around the corner from the base, and headed to the bottle-o across the street. The team had all pitched in for some beer, agreeing that it would probably be safer to sneak it in in smaller amounts. Technically, it was illegal to drink on the premises but it wasn't like they were going to dob themselves into Kerry. If she found out she would probably kill them, although their hangovers tomorrow would probably do it for them.

As she finally entered the car park, it seemed as if the entire team had decided to walk, get dropped off, or had caught a taxi. There were a few cars down the far end, some stragglers staying behind to finish late paperwork to avoid Kerry getting upset. Stella pushed the garage door open with her back, and she could hear the pop and fizzle of cans and bottles being opened in the kitchen. Leon had pulled his recliner out from behind his desk, his feet now resting on the edge of the table with five empty bottles already.

"Boys, grub's on," she said, all but dropping the pizza boxes onto the middle of the table and taking a seat next to Leon and Christian.

Lawson disappeared up the hallway to the bathrooms after finishing a beer, and Josh was the first one to reach for a slice as soon as they were laid out. Shannon walked in a few minutes later and a whole pizza was nearly gone. She took the offered beer from Michael as she dropped into an empty kitchen chair next to him. When Lawson came back, the table was full except for the single empty chair at the end across from Leon.

No one was quite ready to start talking about Dom yet, so Josh settled for taking the piss out of Stella when she yawned loudly and cracked a bottle open.

"Gee Stel, you look a little tired there," he mumbled, a mouth full of pizza and his eyebrows wiggling.

She was unable to keep a smile from forming. "So what if I am?"

"Why are you so tired?" Michael asked innocently, not quite catching on to what Josh was implying. "Didn't you get any sleep after your shift?"

Stella kept quiet, and tried not blush.

"You got some, didn't ya?" Leon giggled in a typical Leon fashion. He was her brother from another mother, the guy she could trust with most things. Except Shannon, of course.

"Maybe," she grinned, flipping Josh off when he wolf-whistled.

"At least one of us is getting some," Christian announced.

"That's what you get for knocking up your wife," said Michael.

There was a chorus of 'ohhhs' from the rest of the team, Lawson speaking over the rest of them with a purpose. "What about you, Shan?"

"What?" she asked, eyes scanning the rest of the group as they started snickering. She caught Stella's eye with a knowing glance before focussing her attention on Lawson.

"Your vow's over right?"

"Yeah."

He raised an eyebrow.

She shook her head. It was probably a good idea to lie to them rather than invent a whole scenario about who she was sleeping with. That way she couldn't get caught out. "Still dry. Go on, laugh it up."

Lawson gave her a questioning look, eyes shifting back and forth between Shannon and Stella, before going silent for most of the night.

They giggled and chuckled and gave each other shit about the tiniest things for several hours, everyone avoiding the metaphorical elephant in the room. It was well past midnight when they had been having an argument about being honest when Dom finally came up. The table top was littered with empty bottles and garlic bread foil, lids scattered the free space and a few had fallen on the floor throughout the night when one of them needed to throw something at Josh or Leon. Michael had stood up to fetch some chips he had left in the cupboard.

"You gotta say, he was a pretty honest dude, you know? He always said exactly what you thinking but were too afraid to say out loud."

Shannon was on her...she had lost count of how many beers she had had. Surprisingly, she was barely buzzed. "He could be nasty when he wanted to be."

"But funny."

Stella smiled, "but he never meant to be."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, he was a funny guy. You just have to have a similar acutely tuned sense of humour, like Dom did."

"Oh, is that right?" laughed Leon.

"Whenever he was funny, it was on purpose."

"Sure, Michael," said Stella. "You are full of shit."

Leon looked at his feet. "I liked his generosity."

Almost everyone looked sceptical. "Dom? Generous?"

"With his opinions he was."

Everyone laughed.

Shannon took a sip of beer. It was nearly empty. "He had an opinion about everything."

"Do you remember when rang up TalkPack and completely lost the plot about the parking inspectors?"

"Yeah, yeah. Why did he call them?" asked Stella, trying to remember. The alcohol she had ingested was making it harder than usual.

"He called them...ah, ah."

"Garbage wrapped in skin," laughed Christian.

Everything went a little quieter. "God, you weren't even here then."

Christian's face dropped. "He told me about it."

"Awww," Stella called, patting the Islander on the shoulder as everyone else laughed at him.

"You know why he got booked so much?" asked Josh, picking at the label on his bottle. "He used to park in disabled spots."

Shannon chuckled, and took to picking at her own bottles label. It seemed to be a popular game with the group.

"Yeah," said Leon, waving his hands around to try and find the right words he was looking for. "And he botched up the fake disabled sticker for his car."

Stella's brow furrowed as she laughed; Lawson hadn't said one thing about Dom all night. They could all tell he was feeling guilty but in hindsight, it wasn't his fault. "What about you Lawson?"

"I never park in disabled spots," he shrugged, chewing on a chip.

"You haven't said anything about Dom."

His eyebrows nearly met his hairline as he tried to look at her without actually moving his head away from his bottle. Everyone's eyes were on him, and he looked to Josh for some help. He wasn't going to get any. "He was a good shot."

The whole group internally scoffed at the pathetic effort Lawson made to praise their fallen comrade. The only sound was the sloshing of beer inside the dark bottles when someone took a sip.

Josh stepped in to help, finally. "Well, whatever you say about him, he was a good dad. He might have been a shit husband, and rooted around, but when it came to his daughter, he was a hundred percent."

Stella looked over to Shannon. It was painfully obvious to the brunette that her girlfriend was running the memories of breaking the news to Sandrine through her head again.

"Shit yeah," said Michael.

"To Dom's parenting skills," Stella cheered.

Another chorus rang out throughout the garage, followed by the unmistakable clanks of bottles bumping each other. "To Dom." Some finished the final dregs of their beers, the heavy thudding of the bottle hitting the table calling out a few times.

As soon as Josh's bottle left his hand, he turned to Lawson. "Tradition calls?"

It took Lawson a few moments to realised that Josh was actually talking to him. He swallowed the last of his beer, dropped it to the table and nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it."

The rest of the beer bottles hit the table. Leon and Stella stayed behind to clean off the table while the others headed to the armoury locker to get seven police issued Glocks. Kerry would have their arses if they left all of the empty beer bottles on the table. She was already going to be pissed about their hangovers.

"Josh, don't give Leon a gun yet," Shannon called out.

"Why not?" the techy complained.

"In a video game, sure, fire a weapon all you want. In real life: no," she stated. "Not to mention you've been drinking."

"So have you."

"But I've been trained to use it."

"Touche."

The rest of the team laughed as Josh handed out weapons, and put two in the waistband of his jeans.

The Fitzroy town hall was a ten minute walk up the road from the base. Two years before when Grace had died, the then members of Tactical Response stood outside at two in the morning, guns aimed at the sky, everyone popping off three shots and spending a few seconds in silence before going their separate ways. Tonight would be no different. It was just before two in the morning and Stella and Michael were doing checks at either end of the street outside the town hall. The last thing they needed was for someone to see them, drunk and firing weapons.

"Clear."

"Clear this end."

"Whit line," said Lawson. They all lined up along the white line on the side of the street, facing the building. The clock tower read just about two in the morning.

"Speech?" Josh asked. Lawson shook his head. "I'll say something then. In honour of Sergeant Dominic Wales, and his undying hatred of parking inspectors." Their arms raised. "For Dom."

Seven simultaneous shots rang out through the streets of Fitzroy.

Shannon led the next tribute. "For Dom."

Seven more shots.

Stella was the last to speak. "For Dom."

The final shots were fired.

Leon hit the trigger for a fourth time and took out one of the windows in the town hall. "Oh shit. I think that was me."

Shannon shook her head, and then lowered it with the rest of the team for a few seconds silence. It was broken by sirens in the distance, that sounded rather close.

"Alright, let's move," Lawson ordered.

The team scattered. Michael and Josh turned and headed back to the base the way they had all come, Josh grabbing Leon's gun on the way. Christian and Leon went the opposite way. Shannon and Stella turned for the park across from the building, Lawson a few feet in front of them. As soon as the boys shadows disappeared behind building corners or trees up the road, and Stella was sure they were alone (with the exception of Lawson, but he didn't count because he already knew about them), she reached out and linked her cold fingers with Shannon's.

Even in the dark, she could see Lawson roll her eyes at them. He only turned back because she gasped at the fact that Shannon's skin was icier than her own. Shannon poked her tongue out at her girlfriend, not realising that Lawson had stopped and was holding his arm out to make sure that they didn't enter the street on the other side of the park. Two marked police cars roared past, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

It was going to be a long walk back to Stella's apartment if they had to hide in the shadows every few hundred feet.

* * *

They had Panadol and coffee for breakfast; they didn't have time to make anything because neither of them had wanted to get up when the alarm went off. Having only gotten four and a half hours sleep, it was guaranteed that Shannon, Stella and the rest of the team were going to have a long shift. That point was proven to Stella when she was driving through North Melbourne, Lawson next to her and Christian in the back.

Lawson's phone went off and she struggled not to groan at the intrusion.

"Good morning Kerry."

This time both she and Christian made themselves heard.

"Me? I slept like a baby." He smiled at Stella. "Really? Sure, okay. Well you know us, Kerry. We always give it our best shot." He hung up on her. "We have got weeks of shit ahead of us. Leon, I need an address for one 'Damien Maxwell Sinclair."

"Kerry punishing you eh Lawson?"

"You know me. I'm a glutton for punishment."

"Alright, address is on your screen now."

Twenty minutes later with Christian manning the Melways, and getting them lost three times, TR1 was pulling up outside of a quaint little house in the suburbs. Stella pulled on the handbrake and turned to Lawson as she was getting out. "Are you going to speak at Dom's funeral? Apparently there is an open invitation for any of his work mates."

Lawson looked like he would rather eat a pile of dog shit than have this conversation with Stella. "Yeah I heard. And no, I wasn't planning on speaking. Alright we do this as a friendly visit, see where it takes us."

"Is he likely to come out firing?" asked Christian.

"Nah, he's too gutless for that. There's a lesson in this though Christian."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"Never handle a firearm when you're pissed."

Stella laughed. "You mean never let Leon handle a firearm when he's pissed."

"That too," agreed Lawson, before knocking on the front security door.

A few seconds of waiting, and a teenager opened the door. As soon as he saw the uniforms, any politeness the kid may have had was gone. "What do you want?"

The term 'bogan-in-training' was running through Stella's mind.

"Is your dad home mate? We need to talk to him." Lawson was calm and casual as he spoke, and he was in no way threatening.

"Nup."

"Right. Is your mum home?"

"Piss off," said the boy, moving to close the door on Lawson when his mum spoke. Lawson looked at his two officers with an amused look on his face.

"Who is it?"

"It's the pigs, you dickhead!"

"Hey!" said Christian, his arms crossed over his chest. The parental side of his was coming out. "That's not a nice way to speak to your mother."

"Ah, Mrs Sinclair, this is the police. Can you come outside so we can talk please?"

"She's not gonna do ya," the teen said. Lawson's eyebrows rose and Stella stifled a chuckle. "If that's what you want? She'd do anyone else, but never a pig."

Mrs Sinclair shuffled to the door in her moccasins, "Damien's not here. Haven't seen him in weeks."

"Yeah, he's gone pig shooting." The kid walked off and Christian shook his head.

"Well, he's in breach of his parole. Mind if we come in and take a look?" asked Lawson.

"You're not going to let them in are you, you dumb bitch?" the kid yelled somewhere from the back of the house.

"He's a nice boy isn't he? Does he keep you on your toes?" asked Lawson with a smile.

Mrs Sinclair mulled it over in her head and unlocked the door to let them in.

"Dad's going back inside because of you, you weak bitch!" Her son came back around the corner, attempting to pull his mother back in. When Lawson got to her first, Christian and Stella pulled their weapons and moved her to the side fence for protection. The door slammed in their faces.

"Little prick," said Christian, unsure of what happened. "Just what we need."

They stood there for a few minutes, Stella and Lawson covering the door as Christian retrieved the cameras from the strong box in the back of the car and called Leon for some back up. Christian opened the box on the front lawn, right in from of the door. The glass was frosted so the kid wouldn't be able to see him.

"Ten bucks says that it takes the uniforms at least fifteen minutes to get here," said Stella, glancing at Lawson.

"You're on," he said.

"I'm in. Ten minutes," Christian bargained.

Mrs Sinclair just watched, shocked that they were making bets when her son was inside with a loaded pistol.

"Ten-seventeen." Stella checked her watch for a starting time. If she lost, she would be out by twenty bucks. If she lost, there went money for alcohol later on in the week when she was up at her parents house. Sure, enough it was ten-thirty-five by the time the marked car pulled up across the driveway in front of TR1. "Ha. You both owe me ten bucks."

"Shit," sighed Christian, as he came back from around the house, putting cameras up.

"Dylan, can you hear me mate?" asked Lawson. Now it was time to start negotiating. "Now I need you to put down that gun and come outside. Now, nothing's going to happen to you. And your dad's not going back to jail."

"Yes he is. That's why my mum called you here!"

"I didn't, Dylan!" Stella tried to quiet the woman but her son's yelling was only upsetting her.

"Mrs Sinclair, I think it's best if we handle this for now," said Lawson. Stella was trying to hold her back as she fought to get to the door. "Stel, get her out of here."

"Shut up you mangy scrag! I'm sick of hearing your voice!"

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, you little prick!" she yelled back.

"You don't even cook! She just wants him to go away so she can screw who ever she wants!"

"That's bullshit Dylan! I love your father. I love you!"

Stella handed her over to the uniformed officers, and headed back to Lawson, rolling her eyes as she went. She pulled her weapon back out and took the defensive stance, gun aimed at the ground.

"Now Dylan, your mum's right. She didn't call us here."

Lawson's voice sounded out of context, especially when Dylan and his mother were screaming at everyone. Shannon and Lawson rolled their eyes at each other.

"Bullshit! She's a worthless whore."

Christian came back around to the front and handed Stella the screen with the uplink to the cameras he had placed around the house. "Do you think it's right that when your dad goes to jail, your mum takes up with his brother? Do you?"

"Well that's not really for me to say Dylan."

"What if it was your mum?"

"He's looking for something," Stella muttered, as he eyes followed Dylan on the screen.

"I realise you got some issues with your mum mate, you probably got a lot to talk about but this isn't the way to do it."

"Yes it is. It's the only language the stupid scrag understands!"

"I want to hurt him," Stella said, shaking her head at the screen.

"Alright well, how about you just drop the insults at the moment?"

"She's my mum. I'll talk to her the way I want you pig! Your mum had sex with a pig and that's what made you!"

Stella started laughing as Lawson shook his head at the weak insult. "He can't find the bullets."

"What? Christian, standby with a flash-bang grenade. Stel, let me know when he's at the front door."

"Yep."

"Dylan, come to the front door, I want to talk to you!"

"Piss off!"

"Come on, you little loser. Come and talk to me. Be a tough guy!"

"Lawson," said Stella, taking up her position next to him.

"Alright, now," he ordered Christian.

Dylan came barrelling out of the house seconds later and Lawson made chase. Stella clearing the weapon he had dropped on the front lawn, Christian catch up to Lawson a whole lot faster. Then everything slowed down and another marked car came out of nowhere, taking the TR team leader onto the roof and pack down to hit the pavement hard.

"Don't move. Stay down," said Christian, reaching Lawson first.

"Have you got him?" Lawson asked, groaning as he tried to stand.

"Yeah we got him."

"Uh-uh, don't move. We'll get you an ambulance," said Stella, motioning to the closest free uniform.

Lawson cracked it at the officer trying to help him up. "Get out of my way. I'm fine."

"It sucks. You spend your life trying to uphold the law, only to get run over by it," Stella joked.

Lawson fixed her with a warning look. She chuckled again and listened to Christian tell Mrs Sinclair off about letting Dylan treat her badly.

TR1 spent half an hour packing up the cameras and screen, giving their statements to an officer from the Richmond station, while Lawson was sprawled out on the front nature strip just trying to get his bearings. It took both Stella and Christian to get him standing again when he got off the phone to Josh. Apparently Kerry's son had been kidnapped by drug marketers, for being a mule.

"Chuck a lefty up here," said Lawson, when they were finally back on the road.

"Last time I checked, the nearest hospital is up that way," Stella argued.

"Yeah, well, change of plan."

"You are such a bloke. You get hit by a car, you refuse medical attention, but you don't have the balls to stand up and say a few words at Dom's funeral."

"Would you like to rephrase that?"

"No, not really. But know this. If I die at work and you don't say anything at my funeral, I am coming back to haunt your arse."

"Sure, sure."

Christian laughed.

* * *

It had been a hard shift. After Lawson getting hit by a car, the squad had spend the rest of the day chasing Kerry's son James around the Northern suburbs, trying to protect him from drug runners. Stella had managed to get off a few texts to Shannon throughout the day but the number was restricted. Thankfully, Christian was driving on the way back to base at the end of their shift.

Stella's phone buzzed in her pocket.

'_Meet you at yours. I want to use my key ;P'_

Stella smiled, and messaged her back.

'_Okay. Got something important to ask you.'_

'_Like what?'_

'_You'll find out later.'_

'_Tell me!'_

'_You really want to know now?'_

'_Of course, it's me.'_

'_LOL. Alright, just don't freak.'_

'_Freak about what?'_

'_Mum wants to meet you.'_

Stella stuffed her phone back into her vest pocket when she didn't get a reply.

"Hey Lawson," she said. His door slammed shut. "You'll regret it you know. Funeral's are really important."

"You know what your problem is Stel? You don't know when to quit! Now I don't want to hear anything else about it. You got that?"

Christian looked at Stella, worried, as Lawson leant against one of the pillars. They had to sit him down when he became dizzy.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Nothing hurts."

"If I'd have known it would have had this effect on you, I wouldn't have asked."

"Well, what would you have me say Stel?" In her argument to encourage Lawson to speak at the funeral, she hadn't really thought that far ahead. "I mean I liked the guy, but he was a screw up."

"Well, you can't say nothing."

"But you don't get it do you? Do you really think I'm the right person to talk for him? I'm the one who pushed him to breaking point, I'm the one who kicked him out of here back to bomb squad, and I'm the one who couldn't save him in the end."

"And you know what? It's actually not about you. What's his family going to think when his commanding officer can't get up at his funeral and say a few words? You just need to do the right thing, even if it means lying through your teeth, it's better than saying nothing."

Lawson had to agree that she had a point. "I'll see."

That was all she could do for now.

Stella was in plain clothes when TR2 pulled up half an hour later working on her paperwork from her shift. The desk she was sitting at had the perfect view of the corridor leading to the garage. She heard the tires squeak on the sealed pavement and looked up to see the Shannon and Josh heading up the corridor, Michael staying behind to check the strong box off. When Josh walked past, Shannon took the opportunity to nod towards the change rooms. Stella followed as soon as Josh was in the office.

"You didn't reply to my last text," Stella said, leaning against the door as it closed behind her.

"Meet the parents already?" Shannon's voice was quiet.

"You can blame Oskar. He's the one I talk to, about everything. And you have been the latest topic of my babbling when I've talked to him recently. He told mum and now she wants to meet you. It's what we were talking about on the phone yesterday when I came home from the shops."

"When does she want to meet me?" Shannon started stripping off her vest and unclipping her thigh holster.

"It's dad sixtieth birthday next week and everyone is going to be there for a few days. I kind of have to be there."

"Everyone?"

"Mum, dad, Frank, his wife and kids, Oskar, Sarah and the boys, me. There will be a little dinner at the local pub for his friends."

"How long is this going to go for?"

Stella stepped closer to Shannon, catching her elbow to turn her around. "Three, four days. I haven't seen them in a while and it'll be good to pick on Oskar again. I know it's sudden after the discussion we had when I gave you key, so you don't have to come."

Shannon's head swung back and forth as she contemplated her options, before smirked. "What are the chance's I'll get to see the embarrassing baby photos?"

"Insanely high," Stella deadpanned. "My mother would show them Josh or Leon if she ever came down here."

"Okay, I'll go."

"You will?"

Shannon nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. I love you," Stella smiled. It was almost as if Christmas had come early. Although this could be potentially...no it _would be_ embarrassing, especially when Shannon met Oskar.

"I love you, too." They shared a soft, sweet kiss.

"Now, hurry up," said Stella, her hand connecting with Shannon's arse. She winked. "We got paper work to do before we can go home."

* * *

**Be kind please. R&R. Thanks guys.**


	18. The Introductions

**Okay, as usual, I'm sorry for the wait. Hopefully, there will be another update before tuesday the 23rd. You readers really do have to thank HappyHereford for kicking my arse into gear. There has been some inspirational issues once again, but hopefully I should be up and running more regularly when Rush comes back on to TV. Fingers crossed for soon! Feel free to get excited folks!**

**So Stella is taking Shannon to meet the rents, and the brothers. Pranks break the ice thanks to big brother Oskar. Things will begin to get a little suss and more serious from now on. It kinda sucks that I don't have any episodes as outlines now haha.**

**alina grech - hopefully this is up to your standards.**

**HappyHereford - this is all your fault :P**

**In A Rush - I've been awake for nearly 24 hours. I might be able to squeeze out some more words.**

**K - lets see if this is good enough**

**Eyghon - Yay, new reader. Maybe this will fix your withdrawals.**

**Unbeta'd so mistakes are mine. Need some embarrassing stories for Stella, the next day. Feel free to PM me any stories and i can tribute it you. Read and Review!**

* * *

It had been an emotionally exhausting week. And the car ride that was only supposed to be two hours long seemed even longer. Especially since the trip was closer to three and a half hours long because they kept stopping along the way. Stella had taken over driving after an hour; Shannon's knee had been bouncing too erratically for her to keep up with the rest of the traffic as they sped along the freeway. The brunette had been comfortable with her bare feet on the sun soaked dashboard and staring at her girlfriend from behind her sunglasses, talking about anything and everything, trying to avoid the topic of the impending introductions.

Eventually, once they had traded seats and Shannon's knee continued to bounce, Stella had twined her fingers with the other woman's when her hand had snuck forward to slip a few skittles into her mouth. The weather was warm enough for the windows to be all the way down and the stereo blasting out songs from the iPod plugged into the power outlet. The contact between the women was helping Shannon to calm down enough to actually laugh the next time they had pulled over, less than half an hour away from White Hills, the town on the north side of Bendigo where Stella's parents lived.

The landscape around them had begun changing as they entered Bendigo, from vast paddocks with an occasional silo or shed, a small house here and there, to a more populated precinct of cars and pedestrians and actual traffic lights. They had gone two hours without seeing so many people and shops in the one area. Shannon turned down the radio when they hit the main street; they didn't want to get pulled up by the local sergeant for disturbing the peace.

"Hey, Stel?" Shannon asked, twirling the brunette's hand in her own. Stella risked a quick glance at Shannon, taking her eyes off the road.

"Yeah, babe."

"Did you want your necklace back?"

Stella's foot nearly slipped and slammed on the brakes with a line of cars already boxing her into the packed street. It was the last question she had expected to come from Shannon. She had successfully managed to get her girlfriend's mind off of the idea that meeting her parents for the first time was going to be disastrous. Or at least, she had thought so. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Well, I know your parents gave it to you, and that it's important to you. I didn't want them to freak or something because I was wearing it and you're not," she shrugged.

Stella pulled up behind a car as they stopped at a red light and turned to face Shannon. "Shannon, I gave you that necklace to remind you that when you're scared, I am here for you." She paused for effect. "And right now, you are scared shitless."

Shannon let go of Stella's hand to smack her lightly on the shoulder, before she turned at look out the window. Pretending to pout, Shannon attempted to ignore the driver's warnings of not moving the car from the middle of the one lane road until she got her kiss. She gave in when the car behind them honked the horn.

"Drive," she ordered, and within minutes they were back to joking around again.

Distance became greater between properties as the neared the northern outskirts of the country town and entered the small area called White Hills. To Shannon, it looked like an older estate that had yet to be finished. There were patches of land with tall grass and even taller trees between every few houses, utes in most of the driveways, and solar panels on most of the roofs.

"Nearly there," Stella teased. She wasn't even paying attention to the street names.

Shannon smacked her again, toying with the necklace nervously with her free hand.

Less than thirty seconds later, the SUV was pulled onto the rather roomy front lawn, less than three feet from the white picket fence. When Shannon rounded the boot of the vehicle, she took in the calm nature of the house. It was a one story structure with large windows at the front, and a small row of shrubs underneath the sill. Unlike the majority of houses in the lengthy street, there was a dusty Mazda in the carport, the engine still winding down from its most recent drive. The house didn't look very big, and Shannon had no idea how Stella's parents were going to fit three more pairs of adults and three no doubt hyperactive children into the rooms.

"Looks like we're the first ones here," said Stella, dropping the keys into her pocket and taking Shannon's hand. Shannon simply looked at her questioningly. "I thought it might be a little bit better if you met the parentals without the pressure of one rather overprotective brother and another who would probably just try to make digs at you."

Shannon's eyes widened almost comically at the idea of being alone with Stella's parents. "When do your brothers get here?" she whispered.

"Oskar and Sarah will get here tonight in time. Frank and his wife tomorrow afternoon. Party is on Friday night and we will leave on Sunday. It will be fine. Now give me a kiss," Stella requested. Shannon tried to get away with a quick peck, but Stella's hands cupping her neck held her in place. "Relax. I will not let them eat you alive. By the time Oskar gets here, you had better be chilled."

The younger officer dragged her girlfriend towards the front door in the early afternoon sunshine and pulled open the security door, before entering the house with a loud knock on the secondary wooden door. There was a soft 'in here' called out to their general direction.

The inside of the house was bigger than Shannon had expected, having had a quick judgment of the exterior. It was rather open with the lounge and the family room separated by two large doors. There was a long hallway to their right which Shannon guessed ran off to the bedrooms and most likely a bathroom. On the other side of the room, through a glassless window, Shannon could see the kitchen, and the woman she knew to be Stella's mother. She had seen photos.

Nina Dagostino was a thin, short woman, her build similar to that of Stella's. Her hair was long but not as dark. They could almost be passed off as twins rather than mother and daughter. Nina was chopping vegetables on a large board, and dropping them into an even bigger soup pot with a splash. She hadn't even looked up from her chopping, and occasionally wiping the blade on her apron. Stella approached her mother from behind, offering a gentle hug and a kiss to the cheek.

"Hey Ma."

Nina finally put her knife down and turned to embrace her only daughter fully. "Stella. Finally you make come home for the first time since Christmas."

"I've been busy." Stella stole a stray piece of carrot and popped it into her mouth.

"Oh yeah? With what?" Nina challenged with one hand on her hip and her free hand reaching for the discarded knife. Stella's eyes widened slightly, and she took a step backwards. Shannon watched on with amusement, hands stuffed into her pockets to stop her from fidgeting. "Hmmm?"

"Ma, meet Shannon." Stella scurried out of the small area, avoiding the knife her mother was playfully handling, and behind Shannon, giving her a gentle push in the direction of her mother. "My girlfriend."

She came to lean on her forearms on the other side of the counter with a cheeky grin on her face, watching as Shannon took a hesitant few steps forward without her girlfriend's help.

"Hi," she said nervously. She offered her hand and a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Nina sized her up, still toying with the knife, and Shannon immediately thought she had said something wrong. The older Dagostino stood there in silent judgement and her eyes found the necklace Shannon was wearing sitting casually on top of her v-neck t-shirt. Shannon still standing there with her hand held out. Stella had to lean over and pat, not smack, pat her mother on the arm, and mouthed 'be nice'. Nina ignored the hand being held out, and pulled Shannon in for a hug, similar to the one she had given Stella.

"It's nice to meet you too Shannon. Now I can put a name to a face, because my daughter would not send a photo to her brother." Nina fixed Stella with a slight glare. Her accent was strong, but there were hints of years spent in Australia lacing it.

"I didn't want to ruin it. If you knew what she looked like, you'd miss the beauty when you finally met her in person."

"Smartarse," came from the other two women simultaneously, both Shannon and Nina glancing at each other, still in a half hug. "Weird."

Stella accepted the insult with a laugh. "Enough said. Where's dad?"

"Cleaning the pool," she said, finally letting go of her daughter's girlfriend to return to her cooking. "Why don't you go introduce Shannon? Just be warned dear, since it's his birthday, he's being a little crude and cheeky. Don't take anything too personally."

Shannon nodded with uncertainty and let Stella take her hand to direct the two of them to the backyard. The laundry was behind the kitchen, a second door opening up into the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Turning left, the two women stumbled out the backdoor and down a few steep concrete steps, to see the pool in the back corner of a large open backyard. A swing set was in front of a small shed in the adjacent corner. It was big enough for a good sized game of cricket or football, maybe even a soccer match. There was a splash as Nikolai Dagostino attempted to reach several leaves floating in the middle of the in ground swimming pool. In the far back corner, there was a hammock swinging loosely in the wind.

"Hey Dad!" Stella yelled, expertly avoiding a small prickle weed in the grass as they walked across the ground in bare feet.

He looked up and a large grin covered his face. "Stella!" If Shannon didn't know any better, she would have thought that the father and child hadn't seen each other in more than ten years, instead of months. Nikolai was tall, taller than Josh, but he was lean. More muscle than fat and he wasn't overly defined, which surprised Shannon considering his age. A greying moustache hid his upper lip, and matched the colour of the thinning layer of hair covering his head. Now she knew where Stella got her eyes from.

Pushing through the pool's security gate, Nikolai practically ran at Stella and wrapped her into a bear hug, lifting her from the ground and spinning around a few times, both of them sharing a laugh as they went. Even Shannon chuckled at the childish nature of the exchange.

"Let me look at you," he said, when he finally lowered her back onto the ground.

"Dad, I only talked to you last week," she replied.

"Yes but I haven't seen you since Christmas."

Once again, Shannon was left standing to the side as they exchanged hugs and the embarrassing pinching of cheeks. It took Nikolai a moment to realise that she was standing there, hands once again stuffed into her pockets. For some reason, she wasn't as nervous about meeting Stella's father as she had been about meeting her mother. He seemed playful, and gentle, and kind, whereas Nina had given the impression of being the stricter parent of the two.

"Ahh, and who is this? Are you my present?" he asked with complete seriousness, towering over Stella with an arm over her shoulders. His daughter had been standing with her arms crossed and her hips canted to the side, unable to stop herself from laughing as soon as her father spoke. She gave him a soft backhand to his stomach. Shannon was slightly lost at his question, and looked to Stella for a little help.

"Dad. We said no strippers. At least while Ma is here. And no, she isn't your present. She's mine," the brunette explained, leaving the warmth of her father's arm to drop her own over Shannon's shoulder protectively. Just as her girlfriends arm came around her back, she continued. "Dad, this is my girlfriend Shannon...not your stripper."

He laughed heartily and extended his hand for a shake, one that Shannon had to fight to control her own body from moving too violently. "Ahh so this is the woman your mother has been going on about? Nice to meet you Shannon, call me Nik. Just as pretty as Oskar described in his email. At least what he heard from you. I don't think even he's seen her."

Stella's eyes slid shut in embarrassment, and Shannon felt herself blush. "Yeah, this is her. No, Osk hasn't seen her. I refused to send a picture because give him half an hour and the entire city would know."

"And why wouldn't you want them to know? I thought you were proud of this relationship, Stel," Nikolai asked with a questioning look.

"I am proud of it, don't you ever think otherwise." She pointed her finger at him. Shannon smiled with admiration.

He raised his eyebrow and Shannon finally spoke. "We work together, so it's kind of against the rules. If anyone higher up than Kerry found out, for example, Ethical Standards, there go our places in TR."

"A-ha! She speaks!" he joked. "Nina didn't mention that you work together."

"Well, she does know. I told her when I was on the phone to her last week. When we were figuring out times and stuff."

He just nodded and motioned for them to start walking back towards the house. Stella instinctively reached for Shannon's hand. They didn't have to make an effort to hide their relationship, although Stella had the feeling that it wasn't going to be flaunted in front of her parents. And especially not in front of her brothers, or else she'd never live it down. Nik held the back door open for the two of them, the leaves in the pool completely forgotten about.

"So how many people actually know about the two of you?" he asked. The question effectively gained Nina's attention as they re-entered the kitchen.

"At work, just Lawson and Kerry. You guys and Oskar and Sarah, I don't know about Frank," Stella explained, dropping into a seat at the breakfast bench. She turned to Shannon, pulling her close enough to sit on her knee. Arms came around her middle to keep her steady. "You've told your folks, yeah?"

"Yeah, a couple months ago. After that whole thing with Kronin the first time. I don't know if she told Dad or not, or my brothers."

Stella nodded understandingly; her parents looked a little lost. She had told them that her team had caught the renowned gang leader, but she hadn't specified that Shannon's biological father had been involved.

"You have brothers? How many?" Nina asked, her anxiety about the younger woman dissipating with each passing moment the conversation used up.

"Two step brothers. Sean and Patrick."

"Mum's side, or Dad's?"

"Mum's. She was a single parent; my real father was never around."

Stella could feel that her girlfriend was getting a little tense as her parents continued to broach the subject of Shannon's family life and upbringing. She couldn't blame her, but she also knew that if she made a scene about moving on from the topic, her parents would come back to it later on. They wouldn't push now, but they definitely would later. So Stella did the only thing she knew she could do to comfort Shannon; she squeezed the arm around her girlfriend's waist, and pressed a casual kiss to her neck, popping a piece of carrot into her mouth as she went.

"How long is this interrogation going to go on for?" Stella asked, trying to speak at the same time as she attempted to steal another piece of the vegetable.

"As long as deem fit," Nik said. "Shannon doesn't mind, do you darl?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "No. I was already expecting it anyways."

"See?" he said. He checked his watch, and announced his return to the pool to continue his cleaning. "You two may want to go and snag a bedroom, before your brother gets here. Remember that as soon as he rocks up, any chance of a little quiet time alone goes out the window."

He laughed and made his exit, pressing a kiss to his wife's temple. Shannon raised an eyebrow, turning in Stella's lap to look at her questioningly.

"We may get a _little_ carried away when we hang out," she smirked sheepishly, shrugging and pushing Shannon off her lap and towards the door.

"What do you mean a _little_?" her mother screeched. "Did you happen to forget Christmas Dinner two years ago?"

"What happened two years ago?" Shannon asked, looking between the two Dagostino women.

"Somehow Frank's very brand new and expensive car just happened to end up covered in honey and feathers," Stella explained, trying not to let her mother see the smile that was beginning to creep up on her face.

Shannon stared at her girlfriend, her eyes widening. "I don't want to know, and I don't want to be involved in whatever the two of you plan."

"Little ol' me? Do something wrong?" She asked, feigning innocence and continue to drag Shannon outside to collect their bags. "Never!"

They could hear Nina laughing as they stumbled out the door, hands intertwined. Hands only became separated when Stella had to go fishing in her pocket to dig out the car keys. As soon as the boot was open, the brunette had her girlfriend sitting in the back leaning against the two bags in the back. She stood between Shannon's legs, her hands cupping the other woman's cheeks and pulling her into a kiss. It was eagerly returned.

"I have no idea when I'm going to get to do this again over the next few days," she mumbled, her lips brushing against Shannon's. "And I have no idea how I'm going to survive."

Their eyes were closed as they continued to kiss softly, drinking in the feeling of each other. They would probably only have the few hours of sleep alone; no doubt Oskar would send Robbie and Mark in to jump up and down on the bed, or bang on the door heavily. Shannon pulled back after a few moments.

"Honey and feathers?" she asked.

Stella laughed out loud heartily, nodding at the memories. "Yeah, we had a bit to drink that night."

"Oh I bet. What are the chances that there will be pranks and jokes over the next couple of days?"

"Very high."

"Thought so. Just leave my car out of it," said Shannon, pressing one last chaste kiss to Stella's lips and turning back to grab the bags. She tossed one to the brunette, and shut the boot behind her, slinging the duffel over her shoulder.

Thlthlthlthlthlt

Nina was in the kitchen, preparing the last details of the dinner expertly, fluttering around the small space with ease. Nikolai came up behind her to refill his glass of water and glanced out of the window above the sink, taking in the sight of the pair across the yard. Shannon and Stella were sitting calmly in the hammock by the pool. The older woman was lying on her back in the mesh, her arms around Stella's waist and her fingers locked over her spine. Stella was cuddled into her side, one arm under her back and the other over her stomach, her face buried into the hollow of Shannon's neck. He couldn't hear them, but his daughter hummed in contentment as they bathed in the last of the day's direct warmth.

Dinner was ready and would be dished the moment Oskar and Sarah arrived with the boys some time closer to seven. There was a dull heavy thud behind him as his wife set down the dinner plates that had been warming in the oven.

"Look at that, would you?" he said to Nina, pointing out towards the hammock and taking another sip of his drink. She stood behind him and took in the view. "I don't think I've ever seen Stella so calm and quiet. Always been the little trouble maker, but it's good to know that there is someone who can calm her down, make her slow down to enjoy life rather than racing through life."

"I can see that Shannon cares for Stella. I'm just trying to figure out how much. Our girl has always worn her heart on her sleeve." Nina cantered her hip and tried to process her thoughts and form a sentence. "There's something about that girl, but I can't tell what."

"Oh hush, dear. They'll tell us if they need too."

There was a quick honk from out the front of the house, effectively ending the conversation between the couple. Frank stretched his neck and managed to see a family sedan pulling up between Shannon's car and the house. A few doors slamming and two little boys sprinted into the house, tired and hungry from their trip, but excited to have finally arrived, yelling for their grandparents.

Nik scooped them into playful hugs, Nina peppering both grandsons with kisses. Oskar and Sarah followed a few minutes later with an arm load of bags, and a couple of toys their sons had forgotten in their haste to get inside. Oskar was as tall as Nikolai, but he was more stocky. Stubble covered his jaw and deep, soft brown eyes gazed at his family. He was a t-shirt and shorts kind of boy, thongs matching his attire perfectly. Sarah was the complete opposite to Oskar; honey blonde hair and silver gray eyes. Her frame was petite and she was barely five foot tall. The boys, Mark and Robbie, would no doubt be identical to their father as they grew.

The newly formed group of six traded pleasantries and made small talk over school and work and their day to day lives. It was a fast conversation, interrupted by Oskar.

"Whose car is that out in the yard?" he asked.

"Oh that's Shannon's car," said Nik, barely paying attention as he let the boys climb all over him..

There was a moment of a repetitive chorus ringing out through the kitchen. "Shannon? Shannon." Sarah was confused; she couldn't remember who Shannon was. Nik confirmed it for her. Oskar was intrigued, and Nina raised an eyebrow, nodding.

"Who is Shannon again?" Sarah questioned.

"Stella's girlfriend," Oskar said, with a knowing cheeky grin. "Where are they?"

"Out in the hammock. Now you listen to me Oskar Nikolai Dagostino, you leave the pranks and jokes to a minimum during this break? You hear me?" Nina warned, her tone serious. After a few seconds, a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "If you must, get it out of your system before Frank and Melissa get here."

"You got it, Ma," he said, a plot already formulating in his mind. Pressing a kiss to his mother's forehead, he moved past her to get a clear look at his intended targets. "Give me five minutes."

With the shaking of her head, Sarah watched as her husband slipped off his thongs by the back door, and proceeded to sneak out as quietly as possible. Thankfully, he had remembered that the back door creaked loudly every time it was opened or closed. Now, putting his plan into action was what was going to take time; he had to do everything slowly as to ensure he wouldn't get caught by the two women on the hammock.

As he neared the pool, he looked back and saw his parents, his wife and his sons watching expectantly through the kitchen window. He could only grin. It was getting darker, and his shadow was already behind him. Oskar listened quietly and watched with straining eyes, waiting for a sign of movement or a voice to talk softly. Nothing. He had to fight not to laugh out loud. This was going to be too easy.

Oskar unravelled the garden hose on the side of the shed, turning the tap on and the nozzle off. Once the hose was lengthened enough to be fed through the fence, the latch snapped open loudly, and he stopped in his tracks, fearful of being caught. He was sure that Stella was going to get payback and for the next four days, he would have to be on his guard. When he realised that they were still asleep, her let the gate slam shut and sprinted to the hose nozzle, firing the moment he had it in his hands.

Stella had her back to him, and got the full brunt of the initial splash. She sat up a little too quickly and fell from her unsteady perch on the hammock, landing with a thud on the grassy area. Shannon's head snapped up; both the water hitting her face and side, and Stella's groans of shock waking her up. Oskar chuckled and the sounds of laughing coming from the house could be heard from the back of the yard. His only sister was trying to shuffle away from the grassy area, not interested in becoming covered in mud.

"Oskar!" Stella yelled, trying to hide her face from the continuous onslaught of water. She briefly considered throwing herself into the pool, but she would only be screwing herself over and playing into her brother's trick. "Knock it off!"

Shannon squealed when Oskar's attention shifted from Stella to herself and she wobbled in her seat, nearly following Stella's method of leaving the hammock, as she turned away from the spray. Her back was suddenly dripping with cold water, the strength of the spray tickling the now soaked material of her t-shirt. When he was convinced that his sister's girlfriend had been tortured enough, his aim returned to the side of the pool where Stella had been laying.

She had disappeared, and he swung around searching for her, the spray moving from away from Shannon's direction. The sun had finally set and the temperature had begun to drop; Shannon shivered as she stood and faced Oskar, getting a face full of water until there was a deep yell. Opening her eyes and wiping her face, she found the prankster smiling childishly at Stella as she glared at him.

"A little carried away?" Shannon asked, twisting her top to release the water dragging the material down.

"Just a little," her girlfriend nodded, wiping her fringe from her eyes and crossing her arms as she began to shiver. "Thanks for the wakeup call, Osk." He fired the gun nozzle at her, a small squirt hitting her in the chest. She tried to spear tackle him into the pool but was held back with his hands gripping her shoulders and laughing.

He already had an advantage over Stella; he was stronger and taller, but Stella had been given special training for her place in Tactical Response. "So you're Shannon?"

"That's me," she glared at him. Shannon wondered if she would be able to get away with pulling rank on the Leading Senior Constable.

"Nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand but my annoying little sister is trying to push me into the pool."

The hose lay forgotten off to the side, dropped when Oskar attempted to stop Stella from successfully pushing him into the pool. Shannon looked past the two squabbling siblings and saw the remaining family members still watching from the kitchen. Nina had shuffled behind them to begin dishing dinner. Inching forward slowly, Shannon picked up the hose.

"Hey Oskar," she said innocently.

"Yeah?" He turned to face her, and his toothy grin dropped. Stella saw her girlfriend with the hose, pointing the nozzle directly at her brother. She stopped fighting and moved away from Oskar.

"It's nice to meet you too." She fired the hose, hitting in his square in the chest. His eyes closed in acceptance, the spray going back and forth, and up and down his body, effectively drenching in to the bone. He licked his lips and shook off the drops of water from his face. Oskar looked back and forth between the two women as Shannon ceased her assault on the man.

"That's what you get, honey!" Sarah called from the house, before telling his giggling clones to go wash up for dinner. He raised his arms, agreeing with her silently.

"I like this one, Stel," he chuckled, holding out his hand to the copper-haired woman. She shook politely, glad that there would be no more awkwardness until the following day. "But just because she's got a pair, doesn't mean she going to get out of the family interrogation led by one Oskar Dagostino." He puffed his chest out, and jerked his thumb into his chest.

Stella shook her head, eyes wide with realisation and the thick country accent. She spoke softly before offering her hand out to her girlfriend to intertwine their fingers. "You are such a bogan." Shannon patted the man on the shoulder sympathetically, and followed Stella from the pool. The brunette let out a yawn and glared over her shoulder. "I was comfortable, you arse. Hey Sarah."

"Hey dork." Sarah was standing at the back door with some towels, throwing them to each soaked individual. They expressed their thanks and set about drying themselves enough to enter the house. She laughed as the siblings wrung out their clothes on the small path and as both fed their fingers through their hair. "I'd hug you, but you're wet." Stella nodded and glared at Oskar again.

She smiled at Shannon and introduced herself. "Sarah. I'm married to this goon," she said with a loving smile. Stella let out a 'ha!', and received a gentle push in return.

"Shannon. Dating this one," she said. Stella scoffed and Oskar let out a familiar 'ha!'

"They've known each other for five seconds, and it's like they're already plotting against us. Women," Oskar said, shrugging his shoulders with unbelieving shock and shaking his head. Sarah crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her husband, her expression asking 'excuse me?' He lowered his gaze and became interested in his wet t-shirt.

Stella simply snickered and made the sound of a whip cracking, her wrist flicking with the accompanying motion.

"I'm married, what's your excuse?" he said.

"What makes you think _I'm_ whipped?" she asked, following him past Sarah and into the house to continue their argument.

"Every time I talk to you, all I hear is 'Shannon this' and 'Shannon that'."

They argued for a few more minutes as to what it meant to be whipped and whether or not they really were. Shannon turned to Sarah, "are they like this all the time?"

"Oh yeah. Just wait till Frank gets here, then it will be arguing about petty thugs and who got the best snag, who got the best comical suspect, etcetera, etcetera."

"Ah," Shannon said. Sarah nodded, before turning her attention back to the siblings.

Stella paused on her way into the kitchen, leaning against the washing machine with a pensive look on her face. "I don't do that. Do I really do that?"

"Oh yes you do," he said.

"You do," Shannon agreed, with a knowing look. "Not around anyone we actually know, but you do. Especially when you're on the phone to Oskar."

"Meh. It's not my fault I love my girlfriend," Stella shrugged, unfazed about cheesiness of her comment. Shannon granted her a chaste kiss, unsure of how much affection between two women they would be comfortable with.

"Awwww," Sarah cooed, before smacking her husband across the shoulder. "Why aren't you like that anymore?"

"You're beautiful and I love you," he said, with a serious smile leaning forward to kiss his wife. She left him to hang for a moment before pressing her lips to his.

"You're sweet," she smiled, continuing with a joking smile. "But you only did it because I called you out on it."

The foursome laughed until Nikolai called them in. "Alright you three, go and get changed so we can eat!"

"Wet clothes in the laundry!" Nina ordered.

Just as they were about to go their own way, two little boys came running into the laundry, pushing Stella back against the washing machine with a strong force. A chorus of 'Aunt Stella!' was called out, their shorter arms circling around her thin frame. She tried to hug them back, but had to settle for a comedic hello. They looked up to her with smiles.

"Hey you lost a tooth! You didn't tell me that," Stella exclaimed, taking a closer look at Robbie's now gapped row of top teeth.

"Yeah, and I got two bucks for it." He was full of excitement and pride.

"Oh I bet. What about you? Did you lose any teeth?" Mark shook his head, a disappointed smile covering his face. "Well, maybe we can pull them out. You should still get money for that right?"

Shannon snickered at the logic she was applying.

"Yeah!"

The moist fabric of her shirt squelched as their arms tightened; she could feel water droplets trickle down the back of her pants. It wasn't very comfortable. They ran away before she could introduce Shannon, at the insistence of Sarah, who didn't want them getting their new clothes wet.

"Alright. Scram, we gotta get changed," their aunt ordered, and they ran off in front of their mother playfully.

Stella and Shannon disappeared down the hall, going left through the doorway, while Oskar when right. The girls had the bedroom at the far end of the hall, just before it veered left, opening up to the bathroom. Her brother and his wife had taken the first room down the hall, mostly because it was big enough to be able to fit in a portable mattress for the boys to share. That left Frank and his wife with the middle bedroom and a small couch for their daughter.

Closing the door behind her, Stella took in the view as Shannon slid her wet shirt over her head with a slight struggle, admiring the sudden exposure of skin with a leering grin. When Shannon turned around and saw Stella standing there, she couldn't help but blush. "Like what you see?"

"Definitely," she answered, taking several steps towards her girlfriend and wrapping her arms around Shannon's waist. She pressed her lips to Shannon's neck as arms encircled her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. "So far, so good right?"

"Seems like it." A small bout of nervousness washed through her. "I'm just waiting for the rest of the interrogation and then hopefully the acceptance."

"The fact that Oskar has already included you in one of his little pranks, and let you get him back for it, shows that he's already accepted you. Probably has something to do with me talking about you nonstop on the phone to him. Dad's joke about the stripper shows that he is at least prepared to give you a chance. You and Sarah get along already. Mum is a little iffy, but she'll hear you out first, try and suss you out."

Shannon nodded and took a breath to calm herself. Stella played with the necklace hanging from her neck. There was a banging on the bedroom door and the younger woman cracked it open enough for her head to stick through. Oskar was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

"Hurry up would ya? Hate to think of what you two are doing in here," he smirked.

"Shut up. We were talking," she argued.

"So that's what the kids are calling it these days, huh?" He pushed off from his leaning space, gave his sister a wink and disappeared up the hall. "Don't forget to wash your hands!"

"Oskar!" She shut the door. "Looks like we had better hurry up."

Ten minutes later the now barely damp trio had changed into dry clothes and taken their seats around the large dining table, except for Mark and Robbie who were sitting at the coffee table in the lounge, an episode of the Simpsons keeping them entertained. Nikolai was at the head of the table, his wife at the other end opposite him. After Shannon and Stella had taken a little longer from coming out of their room, Oskar had insisted that the new addition sat next between him and Nik, so that hands wouldn't wander during the evening meal. Nikolai let out a hearty laugh, and begun filling his plate from the dishes in front of him, passing them counter-clockwise around the table.

Wine was passed over the table after dishes were put down until they started eating, the group stayed silent as they settled into the meal. Shannon was waiting for the questions or jokes to start. She didn't have to wait long.

"So you both work in TR?" said Oskar, finishing his first mouthful and taking a sip of his drink. His question was more directed at Shannon. She nodded.

"Another coppa?" Sarah asked, looking around the table. She turned to Nina, "We are so outnumbered here."

"Rank?" Nik threw in.

"Senior Sergeant," Shannon blurted out automatically.

"Ahhh, not only going for the older woman but a higher ranked one too," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows across the table at his baby sister. There was a swift kick from Stella, hitting him in the shins. He groaned softly.

"Now now, children, behave or I ground you both," Nina said, looking back and forth between her kids as they tried not to smile during their scalding. "Moving on. How long have you been working at TR?"

"Oh, umm." She paused to think. "Nearly two years. Two years in October, I believe."

"So, Oskar, how's work?" Stella asked, trying to move the topic away from Shannon. It didn't really work.

"It's good, you know, it's Ballarat," he answered. "Oh I see what you're trying to do, and don't think for a minute that it's going to work. We have to get to know Shannon."

"Exactly. We have to figure out if she's good enough for you," said Stella's father with a glint in his eye.

Shannon dared to vocalise her thoughts. "How am I doing so far?"

"Not bad," said Nina.

"Pretty good," agreed Nik.

Oskar and Sarah spoke simultaneously. "Alright."

"Good to know." Shannon let a tentative smile grace her lips. "How about you just ask the questions you want to know and we can get that out of the way."

"Sounds good," said Oskar, rubbing his hands together in preparation.

Over the course of the dinner, Shannon answered questions with both hesitancy and ease, occasionally glancing to Stella for a little help when she wasn't sure how to explain her answer. As the number of empty wine bottles grew, the atmosphere became even more relaxed, the common embarrassing story of Stella as a teenager and some of the pranks she and Oskar had pulled over the years came to light. The Dagostino family had brought up topics ranging from favourite colour to favourite footy team to how much she liked working in TR.

It turned out that her favourite colour was blue, she didn't follow the game specifically, and that being involved with the Tactical Response group definitely wasn't a boring job. Sarah and Nina excused themselves to put the boys to bed. A quick to the remaining people at the table and they were gone. Once again, Stella had called Oskar a Bogan for getting so worked up of the cultural importance of the sport.

"All you need now is a mullet and a speedboat," she joked, earning a laugh from the rest of the family.

"Well, the mullet is halfway there," said Sarah, taking her seat next to Stella. "So since we know where you two met, how exactly did _this_ come about? Stel never gave us any details."

Stella couldn't prevent the toothy grin covering her face, as her eyes met Shannon's over empty glasses and dirty plates, and the memories from the beginning of their relationship came flooding into their minds.

"Well, there had been a bit of flirting when Shannon first arrived," Stella started with a sheepish look.

"No, you had done a bit of flirting. Thinking I didn't notice," Shannon recounted, taking a sip of her coffee. "It got heavier and more two-sided when we started hanging out after you transferred to Preston."

"And you decided to play hero the day I asked you out."

"In my defence, he deserved it." Shannon laughed. Their gaze hadn't faltered yet, as the conversation was kicked to life.

"What are you talking about?" Oskar asked. He admired their ability to have a silent conversation with each other, to understand exactly what the other was referring to with the slightest glint in their eyes or a change in body language.

"We had already chased some guy through the aquatic centre, and we had been called to a riot at a pub around the corner. It was something like a bunch of hoons against the patrons over some bull excuse. We ended up in the alley around the side, and this little shit punched me in the face even though he was aiming for the pub owner. So what does Shannon do?" The others shrugged. "She decks the guy. Leon's got it on video."

Oskar motioned for a high-five from Shannon as he laughed. "Nice job. Tell the tech head to email me that video."

"He assaulted a police officer, and I may or may not have been feeling a little over protective that day," she smirked. Her hand came up to meet Oskar's tentatively.

"So what happened next?"

Stella had to pause and think, trying to remember the other events leading up to her asking Shannon out that day. "We were riding with Josh and he got this phone call from Minka; she's his girlfriend's teenage daughter. She was drunk at fourteen down at St Kilda pier. We get there and he told us to buzz off, so we went and got a coffee."

Shannon picked up where Stella left off. "We had a bit of a brutally honest conversation about how we felt on the way back. I admitted that I liked her, and she asked me out."

"Where did she take you for the first date?" Oskar had crossed his arms and leant his elbows on the table. "Completely cheesy?"

"More like completely dorky. We went to dinner, and then we played a round of minigolf."

"You couldn't be a mature adult for one night?" her father questioned playfully.

"Nope!" she retorted. "If it hadn't been for the owner of that place, I wouldn't have gotten a kiss."

"I think there has been enough story telling for tonight. You can finish tomorrow. Stella, you can help me with the dishes," Nina instructed. A fresh wave of nerves ran through Shannon as both she and her girlfriend realised that this was the first time they would be separated since they had arrived at the Dagostino home. "Honey, why don't you pull out Stella's baby album?"

"Sure thing, dear." Nik grinned manically. Oskar let out a loud 'ha!' Sarah cooed sympathetically. Stella face palmed, and shook her head.

"My worst nightmare."

"Hey, you promised I could see them," Shannon said, taking her half full, lukewarm coffee with her as she pushed in her chair and followed the others to the lounge room.

Both she and her daughter stood without argument, piling plates and cutlery which Stella carried to the kitchen. Nina followed a moment later with empty glasses. Oskar trailed in a few minutes later with the salt and pepper shakers, and sauce bottles, before moving out of the kitchen to join Shannon, Sarah and Nik in the lounge room. It didn't take long for the 'awwww's' to start echoing through the house and into the kitchen where Nina had begun running the hot water in the sink.

"I'll wash, you dry," she said in a soft tone, dropping knives and forks into the bubbly water. The plates went next and Nina started scrubbing. Stella snatched the tea towel from its hanging place on the oven door handle, beginning to dry the plates as they came out of the water. "You gave her your cross."

"Yep," Stella said. She kept her eyes on the task she was completing. "That's what we do isn't it? When we find our soul mate? Dad gave you his, Oskar gave Sarah his, Frank gave Melissa his, I gave Shannon mine."

Nina lifted her gaze, passing her daughter a soapy plate. "Do you really think that Shannon is your soul mate?"

"After all these years, is dad still yours?" Stella raised an eyebrow at her mother, expecting the answer she received.

"Of course he is."

"Then you have your answer, Ma." Stella stopped for a moment to study her mother. "I love her, with everything."

"She love you?"

"Yes, she does."

"Are you sure?"

Stella stopped completely to stare at her mother. She wasn't sure if she should be angry or shocked at her mother's doubt. "Are you serious?"

"Stella, you're my daughter. I can tell that she is holding something back, she is too reserved. I don't want you to get hurt."

"You don't think that she is so reserved because she's nervous? She is spending four days with my parents and my brothers. She's meeting my family for the first time. Ma, I know her secrets. I know her past. She does love me. I can guarantee that." Stella stressed every word, keeping her eyes locked with her mothers. Nina seemed to relent under the growing intensity of Stella's gaze. She had never seen such fire in the deep brown orbs before.

She nodded gently. "At least this one is more polite and has more sense than that last girlfriend you had. Hopefully you won't get arrested with this one."

Stella scoffed, and chuckled at the attempted joke. "So are you really okay with Shannon? Honestly?"

"Honestly. She seems lovely. She can't stop smiling every time she looks at you."

Stella smiled, the tension between the two having dissipated almost immediately after Nina had spoken. They finished their task in a comfortable silence, bumping shoulders with an amused grin. Twenty minutes later, the dinner plates and the cutlery and the glasses were washed, dried and put away. They had all had a rather long day, with travelling and the excitement of getting hosed down. After peeking over Shannon's shoulder to check out which photos they were up too, Nina announced her retirement to bed at nine thirty.

"Night Ma!" said Stella and Oskar, offering a kiss to their mother's cheek before the older woman turned and headed into the room across the lounge room. Sarah and Shannon both expressed their good nights with smiles. Moments later the family patriarch followed his wife to bed.

Shannon was sitting in the middle of the second three seater couch, Oskar and Sarah flanking her with an open photo album in her lap. Stella came to stand directly behind the couch and one hand came up to rest on the back of her girlfriends head to tangle in her hair, while her free arm draped over her shoulder, fingers tickling the exposed skin above the collar of her v-neck. She bent at the waist and pressed her lips to the back of Shannon's neck. "Aww, not the primary school photos. I was such an awkward child."

"Just wait until we hit the high school photos," Sarah teased.

"God no!" Stella's forehead dropped to Shannon's shoulder in embarrassment. "I vote that we avoid those photos and go to bed. It's been a long day."

"You just want get some," Oskar retorted. He received a sharp slap to the back of his head.

"What's your point?" she asked with a sly grin. Shannon could only blush.

"If the two of you are going to be like this for the whole trip, I swear that I will go home with permanently flushed cheeks. And you will be in so much trouble." Stella poked her tongue out and winked at Shannon, before kissing the skin behind her ear. Oskar simply laughed. "I can't go back to work looking like that, Stel!"

"I'll take all the blame, but that may involve telling the team." Shannon cringed at the idea. "Yeah. That's what I thought. Now let's go to bed. I want some cuddles."

Stella rounded the couch to pull her girlfriend up from the seat. Sarah took the album before it fell to the floor and took Shannon's place next to Oskar.

"That's not all you want," he said. The smirk on his face quickly disappeared.

His comment was rewarded with another slap to the head, but this time from his wife. "Now _you're_ not getting any."

Stella laughed at her brother's misfortune and whispered a quick 'good luck', and dragged Shannon down the hall to their room, as she waved a goodnight to the couple on the couch. Arms encircled her waist as Stella closed the bedroom door behind them. All in all, the day had been a success; Shannon's nerves had disappeared completely, washed away when she had been squirted with the hose; and her family had practically accepted her immediately. As usual, Oskar was the best icebreaker Stella had in her arsenal.

* * *

**Did it suck? It sucked didn't it?**


	19. The Other Brother

**Okay so I'm going to make this very short because I keep accidentally opening pages from my favourites bar. Thought I could make up for the lateness with sex, lets hope it works. The lack of conversation between Frank and Stella is simply a way to convey the fractured nature of their relationship. Let me just say before I accidentally open my twitter page, thanks for the love, lets hope this lives up to my readers standards, it is getting harder to write without a baseline but i'm getting there, this is all Happy Hereford's fault, there will be one more chapter with Stella's family, a prank and a confrontation, and if you haven't checked it out yet, there is a really good AND bad spoiler in this weeks TVguide.**

**Hereford - was there an air date for season 4 in that article you read?**

**Thanks guys. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was still dark outside when Shannon woke with a small start, the gap in the curtains giving her enough room to see the dark stormy clouds enveloping the outside sky. The room returned to the darkness just as soon as it had been lit up. She remembered why she had woken up: a low rumbling rattled the window pane above her head, and the constant patter of rain against the tiled roof told Shannon that the late night storm they had fallen asleep too had grown heavier over the last few hours. Her left arm was trapped under Stella's body, and it took a few moments of gently struggling for her to finally be able to check the time on her watch.

It was just after three in the morning and she sighed with frustration. They had fallen into a restless sleep after the storm had kicked in an hour after they had retired to their bedroom. It had taken Shannon a while to calm Stella down after the first boom of thunder had rolled over their heads, and she had been fitful once she had finally succumbed to her dreams. Stella curled into Shannon as a crack temporarily deafened her. There was a hum of contentment from the brunette into Shannon's neck as she woke up.

"What time is it?" she murmured. Stella's head lifted from the pillow slightly to take in the darkness with a sleepy expression and a yawn. "Baby, why are you awake? Why am I awake?"

"It's just after three, Stel." Her fingers sifted through the brown hair soothingly as she answered her girlfriend's questions. "You are awake because I am awake, and I am awake because of the storm."

Stella was suddenly more alert. "Storm?" A boom of thunder and a lightening flash answered her. She threw the doona over their heads and scrunched her face up into the crook of Shannon's neck.

Shannon's body shook with her silent laugh for a moment and tightened the loose grip that had been created around her girlfriend. Her eyes were closed as she spoke and she kissed the woman's forehead. "You know, you never told me why-holy shit your hands are cold!-storms freak you out." Stella's hands had crept up underneath Shannon's t-shirt, desiring some skin on skin contact with her girlfriend and at the same time, gave her goosebumps.

Stella sighed and rolled over, giving her back to Shannon, just as she flattened herself on the bed. The arm that was still beneath Stella's body, interlocked with the other woman's fingers and came to rest on the brunette's hip.

"I was seven. Frank was ten and Oskar was twelve. Osk was at a friend's place after a football game or something, so Frank and I were left to tolerate each other for the night. I had snuck into his room to muck around after Ma put us to bed and he dared to me to go outside in the huge, huge storm. Being the youngest, you'll do anything to fit in with your brothers. That, and I never turn down a dare. So what do I do?"

"You went outside?" Shannon whispered.

"Yeah. He wanted to get me back for shaving a nice big line down the middle of his head, so when I got out the window, he locks it behind me. Wouldn't let me back in. I couldn't yell for my parents because they'd get mad, and they probably wouldn't be able to hear me over the rain and the wind. I spent the night in the cubby without a blanket, and Ma and Dad went nuts when they couldn't find me in the house. I got sick and Frank got grounded. He had to be my slave for like two weeks.

"Being a seven year old, stuck outside in the cold, windy and wet storm like that was so scary. Ever since then, I just, haven't liked storms."

"Aww baby," she cooed. "Your brother is such a little shit! I feel like I probably don't say this often enough, but I love you Stella."

"I love you too Shan." Stella pushed her body back into Shannon's. She jumped one last time as a boom of thunder was felt in her chest. Shannon squeezed their laced fingers, and together they promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Stella was the first to wake up the next morning, the subdued sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains hitting her square in the face. At first she had tried to fight off the impending consciousness, wanting nothing more than to stay where she was and drift off again. But when the body she was half cradling shifted, any hope she had to return to her dreams vanished with a 'poof' inside of her mind. Lazily, she took in the sight of Shannon settling onto her back with a soft sigh.

The older woman's right leg had become caught between Stella's thighs as they slept, and her arm was propped up at an awkward albeit comfortable angle over her girlfriend's hip and lower ribs. The brunette's free arm was draped over the one resting on her hip. Stella set her cheek into her palm and rested on her elbow as she set about studying her most favourite subject in the world.

Shannon's coppery-red hair was flowing messily between her head and the pillow, strands scattering over her shoulders here and there. She pressed her lips to Shannon's temple tenderly, before moving her hand slightly to begin tracing invisible patterns on the skin that had been exposed during the night. Stella's eyes slid shut as her finger tips met the cream skin after pushing the doona down a few more inches, from where it had been sitting over their waists.

Shannon involuntarily shivered and arched her body up off the mattress, letting out a yawn until her eyes snapped open at the heavy pounding on the closed bedroom door. Her elbow connected with Stella's ribs hard as she jerked awake and into a sitting position on the bed. Her girlfriend keeled over into the space Shannon had cleared when she sat up. It wasn't as if the pain was excruciating, it was just a hard shock that temporarily took the breath from her lungs.

"Ow, ow. Dammit!" she swore. "Oskar, you arsehole!"

"Wake up you two! Ma says she's only gonna keep breakfast on the table for another twenty minutes," came booming through the door, the familiar voice immediately being recognised as Stella's man-child of an older brother, Oskar.

"Oh, baby. I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Shannon asked, lying back down on her side to scoop her girlfriend into her arms when Stella rolled the other way.

"Ow," she answered, rubbing the palm of her hand firmly over the last three ribs on her right side. "Yeah I'm okay."

Oskar's head came through the door, with a hand covering his eyes and a gap between his fingers. "You two decent?" Stella's pillow was pulled from beneath her head and tossed as hard as possible at the door. Unfortunately it missed. "Seems like your girlfriend is a little testy in the morning, Shan."

"Bite me!"

"No thanks. I know most of the places you've been," he responded automatically, with a sly grin and wiggling eyebrows. Stella and Shannon rolled their eyes. "And then there are those places that I don't know about."

Another pillow went flying his way and he ducked back out into the hallway. "Go away!"

"I don't want to!" he cried, pushing the door open so they would see him stomp his foot as if the beginning of a tantrum that was fast approaching.

"So mature," Shannon muttered with wide eyes. She could tell that he was playing around, trying to get them out of bed, even if that meant chasing him down the hall in their pyjamas. There was no way that was going to happen, at least not in Shannon's case.

She received a small slap to the stomach and a gentle glare from Stella. "Saying things like that insults him."

"So childish?" she asked.

"Now let's not inflate his ego _too_ much." Stella rubbed her ribs again, effectively removing whatever slight pain she had had and replacing it with a slight itch, one beneath her skin that she wasn't able to scratch.

"Hey!" Their pillows came back with a force Shannon had never seen used on the cushiony object.

Down the hallway, Nina Dagostino was standing with her arms crossed, watching as her eldest son threw a pillow as hard as he could back into the bedroom that her daughter and her daughter's girlfriend were occupying over the course of their five day holiday. "Oskar Nikolai Dagostino!"

He looked up, like a deer caught in the oncoming headlights of a car, and paused with the second pillow high in the air ready to launch it at the two women lounging on the bed. Shannon and Stella shared a common look, one that had been perfected when sharing a car with Lawson, and snickered at the man's misfortune. Nina Dagostino was one woman you wouldn't want to piss off.

Stella reached for her pair of tracky pants lying at the end of the bed to cover herself up. She didn't exactly want to walk around the house in front of her parents, brother, sister-in-law, and two young nephews in just her underwear and a singlet. "Ohhh, she used the full name. You're in trouble!"

"Stella and Shannon, time to get your butts out of bed. It's after nine."

Oskar came back with a rather loud 'ha!', the arm that had been raised dropping to his side to appease Nina, and Stella groaned, her head dropping into Shannon's lap. "Coming!"

Fingers quickly brushed through her loose bun her hair was up, and she requested a good morning kiss from Shannon. It was granted almost immediately, forgetting that Oskar was still standing in the doorway, an evil grin forming on his face as another of his infamous plans floated into his mind. The moment his mother had returned into the kitchen, the object in his hand had been piffed in the direction of the bed resulting in two slightly annoyed 'oofs'.

He didn't even realise he'd done it. Honest.

"Oskar!" Stella glared at him, as he disappeared from view and up the hall. She was tempted to throw the pillow back at him again, but that would probably only result in a pillow fight or a game of chasey through the house. With Mark and Robbie in the house, it would have turned into a game of tag, and that was most likely a bad idea.

"You two are adorable," Shannon cooed. She pulled on the jumper that had been lying next to Stella's tracky's, to keep from shivering in the cool morning air that the storm had left behind.

"I know I am," Stella smiled. "But why are you calling the man-child adorable?"

"Because," Shannon paused and Stella took the moment to study her. Her face had steeled over, enough to show some emotion, but not enough for Shannon to be entirely truthful. "You two can fight, and play pranks on each other, get on each other's nerves. You can pretend to be mad at each other, but it doesn't last. It can't last. At the end of the day, you both love each other. It's been rare for me to see that between siblings. Or in an entire family setting."

"You never had that with your brothers?" Stella asked. Rounding the bed, she took Shannon into her arms.

"Nope. They're five years older and I didn't grow up with them the way you with Frank and Oskar."

"Well, you better get used to it, 'cause I can guarantee that your relationship with Oskar will be like that soon enough," she joked. That earned her a small smile, one that didn't quite reach Shannon's eyes. "We haven't even been here for twenty four hours, and we've been asleep for at least eight of those hours and I can tell you now, that they all approve of you and of us. And before you say anything, Frank doesn't count. He doesn't like anybody. Okay?"

"They really like me?" Shannon asked. Stella nodded quietly; she was waiting for her mother to yell out back down the hall for them to hurry up. "Seriously?"

"Yes. I had a lovely conversation with Ma over the dishes last night. You're way, way, way better than the last girlfriend I _told_ them about. You're the first one I've brought home since high school, boyfriend or girlfriend," the brunette explained. Shannon nodded slowly in acceptance, as the information sunk in, and sighed into Stella's neck. "Now that that conversation is over, give me a smile."

The way Stella was able to make the command seem so simple, was more the reason behind Shannon's bright smile, than the reassurances Stella had provided her with.

"There's that smile I love so much." Shannon could only blush and smile more.

Even after eight months of being in a relationship with the woman holding her, Shannon still had trouble understanding the idea of Stella loving her, of giving her compliments, and gifts, and not pressuring her with anything. After her failed attempts at relationships with men, this was definitely too good to be true.

"Let's get out of here before your mum comes down here to tell us off," Shannon said, dragging her girlfriend out of the bedroom. "Why did she say 'it's after nine'?"

"Oh, if you sleep in after nine am in this house, you're being lazy and wasting the day away," she explained just as they entered the kitchen, hands clasped. Out in the yard, the boys were running around with a football and full of energy with AFL gurneys on; Mark in the trademark yellow and blue of the Eagles, and Robbie sporting the unmistakeable colours of Port Adelaide.

She headed straight for the kettle to make herself and Shannon a coffee, and some toast if she could scrounge up some left over bread. Breakfast was over, and whatever hadn't been eaten would be used for lunch or dinner somehow, like toasted sandwiches for lunch, or bacon in a pasta dish at dinner. When you're feeding a household full of Dagostino boys, there is very little left over after breakfast for Nina to use later on.

"Morning," they announced with a wave. Shannon dropped onto a stool next to Sarah on the other side of the kitchen bench, receiving a warm smile from Nina.

"Well, look who's finally awake, you lazy bums!" said Nik, coming to a stop behind Shannon as he looked into the kitchen at Stella. He turned to the brunette sitting in front of him. "How did you do it?"

Shannon looked genuinely confused. "What did I do?"

"Usually Stel gets really freaked out during a storm," Sarah explained, looking up from the newspaper. "There was no screaming, no hiding. Nothing. Besides that weather last night, it was unusually quiet. Hence the question: how did you do it?"

"Ummm, that's a good question." She had seen Stella become rattled and a little unhinged during a blackout storm back in Melbourne a few months after they had started dating, but never to the point of screaming and yelling, full of complete and utter fear. Maybe she had underestimated her girlfriend's phobia of extreme weather.

"We cuddled. That was it," the young Dagostino explained.

Oskar sidled up to stand behind Sarah, his hands sitting comfortably on his wife's shoulders. "Are you sure that's it?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Oskar raised an eyebrow. "No, Oskar, we did not have sex last night. 'Kay?"

Nina stopped rinsing the breakfast dishes, to stare at her daughter who went on like nothing had happened. Shannon could only cover her face and shake her head in embarrassment. The ground could never open up and swallow you whole when you really wanted it too. Nik, Oskar and Sarah were all struggling not to laugh at the bluntness of the comment.

"What?" Stella asked, a mouth full of vegemite covered toast. "He's being mean."

"Alright, alright. You and Shannon go shower. The two of you and Sarah are going to the market for me before Frank and Melissa get here," instructed Nina, not looking up after returning to her dishes. Shannon was simply grateful for the escape route, and grabbed her coffee, making a beeline for the hallway door. Before Oskar could open his mouth, she yelled out to them "separate showers!"

There was a booming laugh down the hallway as they ducked back into their room trying not to spill their coffees.

By ten o'clock, both women had followed Nina's instructions and showered separately. A quick, on-the-spot routine had been established, one would shower while the other would relax, finish their coffee and sort through their duffle bags for something to wear. Stella had begged Shannon to wear _those_ jeans, and after a few minutes of negotiation, she had relented, after convincing Stella to wear _that_ navy blue singlet. The brunette had fidgeted as Shannon did her hair, half up and half down. Shannon had kissed her thoroughly when she was finished.

"What was that for?" Stella asked, slight breathless, but without complaint.

"I can't kiss my girlfriend because I think she looks gorgeous today?" Shannon asked, raising her eyebrows. Her expression dropped when Stella smirked and drew the two of them closer together.

"It's too bad everyone is just out in the kitchen," Stella murmured, her face millimetres from Shannon's. Their noses grazed. "Otherwise, I would take you right here, right now."

Shannon's face lit up dumbly like it was her birthday and this was the best present ever. "I can be quiet," she whispered. Temptation was too hard to resist right now.

"No, you can't," Stella smiled, kissing her still slightly dumbfounded girlfriend chastely before pushing off to search for her phone charger. "You're quite a screamer."

"Only when it's you on top of me! Stel, you cannot tease me like that! I'm nearly ready to spontaneously combust here!"

"Says the one who teases me at work!"

"Payback's a bitch," Shannon muttered to herself, huffing softly.

"Yes," Stella smiled, "it is."

After phones had been stuffed into pockets out of pure habit, and wallets and keys were dropped into Shannon's bag, they walked out into the lounge to find Sarah waiting patiently. Stella was still huffing after a few minutes; she never lost when they would play the teasing game. This time she had been beaten, hard.

"Hey, Blondie," Stella said affectionately. Shannon headed over to the front door to slip her flip flops on. At first, Sarah didn't look up, her gaze unfocussed. It took Stella a few times before she gained her sister-in-laws attention. "You okay?"

"Hmmm? Oh yeah. Yeah," Sarah smiled, trying to brush off any awkwardness. "You ready?"

Stella eyed the woman carefully, before nodding. "Yeah."

"Stella," Nina called. She was holding her hand out, a piece of paper between her fingertips. "What I need. You know which ones I like. And please don't take too long. I need it all before Frank and Melissa get here."

"Looks like we'll be spending some dough at the grog shop. We can't get the cheap crap this time," Stella joked, poking her tongue out

"And you call your brother a bogan," Shannon muttered.

"Yes. You may call me a bogan, but remember, you're the one who is choosing to date me," Stella whispered, kissing an unsuspecting girlfriend. Nina told them to hurry up. "Got it, Ma. Let's go girls!"

"Who's driving?" Sarah asked, hands hovering over the keys to her family car parked on the front lawn.

"I am," said Stella, shuffling through Shannon's bag looking for the car keys. Shannon laughed and Sarah shook her head. They got into the car with Shannon riding shotgun and Sarah in the back. They had been driving for a few minutes, when the youngest woman in the car spoke up again. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

Sarah looked up to the review mirror, spotting Stella glancing at her out of curiosity. Shannon had developed a knack for being able to tune out when other people began a serious conversation and she was in the car. Since it was between family members, she felt the need to find an interest in the vast countryside surrounding them, as they began talking.

"Yeah, yeah. I just," Sarah trailed off. "Never mind."

"Nah, nah. Spit it out."

"I, I was craving vegemite and ice cream last night."

"What? Seriously?" asked Stella, a grin forming on her face. She turned around in her seat, after checking the road in front of her. Shannon scolded her when the car started swerving. "Shit."

"I'm not even sure yet," Sarah stressed from the back seat.

After the car's course was corrected, Shannon decided to speak up. Her face scrunched up at the odd pairing of the two foods. "Okay what has got this one so excited that's got this one swerving my car? What's with the vegemite and ice cream cravings?"

Stella laughed when Sarah remained quiet. "Blondie had the exact same cravings when she was pregnant with Mark and Robbie."

Shannon nearly squealed and turned in her seat, wide eyes. "You're pregnant?"

"I don't know. I haven't even gotten a test," she stressed again. "You can't tell Oskar. I don't want to get his hopes up."

The women in the front could tell that from Sarah's voice, she was purely terrified. "What's going on between you two?" Stella asked. Sarah was the closest thing Stella had to a sister. Considering that she actually was family, if the blonde or her brother were hurting, so was Stella.

"After Robbie turned two, we decided to start trying for a third. We've miscarried twice in two years, and he was so excited when he found out I was pregnant both times. I don't want to get his hopes up for another child, if I'm not actually pregnant. Telling him about my cravings will do just that."

"Okay," Stella said, her voice gentle and calm, only wanting to settle the blonde in the back, rather than panic her. She was grateful that her girlfriend had reached over to take one of Sarah's hands, comforting the woman in the back seat.

"Is there a pharmacy at the market?" Shannon asked, looking over her shoulder to Stella.

"Ahhh, yeah I think so, but I haven't been there in a couple years," her girlfriend explained.

"Well, if there's one there, we can get her a pregnancy test." Shannon turned back to Sarah with a reassuring smile. "Just to settle your nerves for now."

"Well, if that's the case, we should get her a couple tests just to make sure." They pulled up at the first available parking spot Stella could find closest to the main entrance. It was Thursday; pension day. The market was swarming with elderly people, some with walking frames, and some with their grown children drinking coffee for a weekly catch up, taking up most of the small food court in the process. "No wonder Ma wanted us to come instead of her."

"Is it alright if I go to the pharmacy now and take the tests?" Sarah asked, griping the strap of her handbag.

"Yeah, course. We'll go to the fruit and veg shop, so just come find us when you're done." Stella pulled Sarah into a comforting hug. "It's gonna be fine."

For a prolonged moment, Shannon and Stella watched as the blonde walked away trying to hold her head up high, until their fingers linked and they headed in the opposite direction to begin collecting the items on Nina's list. Stella was leaning over the trolley's handle bars few minutes later, strolling down the first short isle of fruit. She enjoyed the simplicity of the task; shopping with her girlfriend. No one was looking at them with a second thought, or a first one for that matter.

"What are you smiling for?" Shannon asked, pinching the list from Stella's hands and studying it for a moment, before looking back to her girlfriend.

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"With your logic and thinking, no." Stella scoffed. "What's going through your head?"

"I'm just happy. This feels good."

"Grocery shopping feels good?" Shannon asked sarcastically.

"No. Grocery shopping with you feels good. It's feels simple, easy, normal. Especially compared to amazingly complicated bullshit we have to deal with back at home."

Shannon watched as Stella stopped to choose some cherry red tomatoes for her mother. She brushed some hair from the brunettes face and smiled genuinely at the other woman. "I love you."

"I love you too," Stella replied. "Look at us, getting all sappy in the fruit section."

Shannon let out a laugh, and pressed a kiss to her girlfriend's temple. They continued down the aisle, skimming the list occasionally and sorting through piles of produce in silence for a few more minutes. Thoughts and questions began to filtered through Shannon's mind, as they shuffled on a little further down and turning a corner. Sarah and her possible pregnancy came into her head.

"Hey, Stel."

"Hmmm?" she replied, sifting through some lettuces.

"You ever thought about having kids?"

Stella paused in her movements, the lettuce halfway into a freezer bag, and her eyes went wide. Shannon could see her girlfriend beginning to freak out silently. Stella's hesitant reply was interrupted by Sarah's return. The brunette hadn't realised that her sister-in-law had been gone so long, or that the time had passed so quickly.

"How'd you go?" she asked, turning to Sarah with a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Four different tests and they were all positive. Never had all four been positive before."

Stella jumped up and down for a few moments in childish excitement before hugging the woman. The 'children' question was still floating in her mind, temporarily pushed back to let in the baby news. She had no idea what her answer would have been. A few months ago not long into her relationship with Shannon, she had told Christian that she had no desire to have kids, and was missing a certain organ to complete the process. Now, she wasn't sure what she would have said.

Shannon offered her congratulations with a hug, but the sting of rejection hurt. Stella hadn't said anything, at all. It wasn't if she was asking Stella do go find a doctor, a donor and get pregnant right this instant. She was simply curious of what her answer would be. Shannon had had several dreams of having a family with Stella, which had morphed to nightmares when her fears of becoming a bad parent would ruin the bliss she was experiencing. Shannon had had no idea what brought those dreams on, but they had quickly turned into her favourite and most common theme in her dreams.

There was a little tension between the couple as they focused on nagging Sarah with questions about the future baby, how and when she was going to tell Oskar, what she was hoping for, how the boys, and Nina and Nik would take it. The uncomfortableness lasted well over an hour until they got home, and in that time it was covered with the questions and jokes and laughs. If Sarah noticed anything, she didn't open her mouth about it, but kept to answering their questions instead.

The moment they arrived home, Stella was fixed with a questioning look from her mother; one eyebrow was raised and she was practically being scalded. Her mother always did have a sixth sense for picking up on anything that was out of place between two people. She hadn't known Shannon very long but she could spot their tension a mile away. A quick nod from Nina was all Stella needed to know that she was being told to put the groceries away, and then take Shannon out the back for a private chat.

It took another nod before Stella actually got the courage to link her fingers with Shannon's, and pulled her outside and out towards the hammock as Nina and Sarah began preparing a family lunch. The boys were now in the middle of a cricket game with Nik and Oskar. Her brother didn't give her a second look after a smile, concentrating on where his four year old was going to smack the ball.

The brunette settled first, holding the roped seat wide enough for Shannon to sit down. Her girlfriend sat down with her back to Stella, watching the boys playing with a smile. The younger Dagostino let her fingers graze over the sun soaked sun of Shannon's arm and shoulder.

"I didn't know how to answer your question before," Stella admitted. "About the having kids."

"I have to admit that the silence hurt more than an answer ever could." Shannon's gaze never left the game of two on two. "I was just curious about what you would say."

"You took me by surprise. I never thought of having kids, I never had the desire or the want. Oskar and Frank were always the parental figures, not me. I'm the cool aunt who babysits and tries to corrupt them and backs them up when their parents won't and at the end of the day I can give them back," both women shared a smile as the experiences Stella was describing. "I never thought that I would be capable of having a child entirely dependent on me. And then I fell in love with you. Now I actually dream about having a family."

Shannon's gaze finally shifted from the boys to her girlfriend. She was trying to understand what Stella was saying, trying to accept it and process it.

"A family with you, believe it or not."

The Senior Sergeant smiled at Stella. "Maybe one day."

"Come here," the brunette said, motioning for Shannon to lie down in her arms. "What about you? Ever thought about kids?"

"I always thought that if I had kids, I would never be around because the kids father would be a deadbeat and I would be a single parent who was always working and had the occasional fling. Or that I would turn out like Tony and somehow hurt them. And I would wonder to myself, if there was a chance that I couldn't be a good parent, what was the point of bringing a child into the world, especially one that can be as horrific and terrifying as this one."

Stella's arms gripped Shannon's waist and she kissed her. "I think you'd be a great mum, Shan. And if we ever have a family, I promise that I won't let you turn out like your parents."

They relaxed into the hammock, Stella's eyes closing in the early afternoon sunshine and her free arm tucking under her head as Shannon pulled herself closer. A hand drifted from Shannon's waist to the back pocket of her jeans. The brunette's ribs stung gently when her girlfriend slapped her stomach for the squeezing of her fingers. They shared a quiet laugh and linked their fingers. Shannon spent a few minutes playing with their joined hands easily enjoying the peace that had fallen over them, the occasional thump of a bat hitting a ball, and a chorus of childish cheers filling the yard.

The atmosphere between the two of them grew more intimate, a fingertip outlining the features of Stella's profile. Their lips met briefly and tenderly, pulling back when a series of loud honks and toots came from the street in front of the house.

"Frank and Melissa are here!" Nina yelled though the open kitchen window and Shannon felt Stella's demeanour change.

"Oh joy!" Stella groaned, rolling off the hammock after Shannon. Mark and Robbie had run into the house ahead of Nik who didn't look back. Oskar looked at his sister as she and her girlfriend walked through the pool's safety gate.

He lifted his eyebrows with a humoured expression, challenging her almost, "Are you ready?"

"What do you think?" she laughed.

He knew that the relationship between his younger siblings had been rather fractured for a few years, but he had no idea why. It was as if neither of them trusted him enough to tell him why they no longer got along like they used to. Sure, they had been able to tolerate each other, get long to the point of ganging up on Oskar occasionally. But then something had happened down in the city, and then they couldn't even be in the same room without venomous words being swapped and a tension building up that the oldest sibling could cut through.

When Stella and Shannon finally entered the house, hands linked, Frank was giving his mother a kiss hello, and a handshake to his father. Frank was a tall, broad shouldered man, with his shaggy jet black hair slicked back to the top of his neck. He was wearing a clean pressed polo shirt under a suit jacket with jeans. The moment his silvery eyes fell on Stella, a level of uncertainty and despise filled his eyes.

His wife Melissa was behind him taking in the house, like it was filthy and unworthy of her presence, and just standing there dirtying her rather expensive looking turtleneck, skirt and pearls. From what Stella had told Shannon, Melissa was a trust fund kid, having been brought up in the rather expensive side of the city, and Frank was trying his hardest to keep them there. She was as short as Stella, with her heels on, her hair pale blonde, and a steely expression atop her tiny frame.

Their five year old daughter Annabeth was standing next to her mother, wearing a similar expression in a white dress, but with a doll tucked under her arm instead of a Gucci handbag. She was a spitting image of Melissa with Frank's eyes. Shannon guessed that this was what Melissa was like as a child, spoilt to no end with hardly any time to behave like a child.

"Stella," he sneered.

"Hey, Frankie," she teased, a less than comical smile on her face. The two of them only really got along for their parents benefit, even was forced. She waved to Melissa and Annabeth. "Hey guys."

They nodded in distaste. Shannon had to admit that despite the bratty attitude of her girlfriend's niece, she was still polite to a degree. The intensity of the gaze between Frank and Stella only grew until Oskar decided to ease it before they both snapped.

"So, this is Shannon," he pointed at her, over Stella as he stood next to Sarah and the boys. "Stella's girlfriend."

Politely, Shannon offered her hand and a smile, which was taken by Frank at the insisting glare from Stella and Oskar. When she moved on to Melissa, her hand was ignored with pointed eyes. She stepped back, with slightly angry and dejected expression on her face, but she kept quiet and fall into place behind Stella. Oskar's attempt didn't help the situation much. It was Nina who managed to get everyone a little more relaxed with, "So who is ready for a late lunch?"

They all piled into the kitchen to form a line of a get it yourself sandwich from the platters of food spread out on the kitchen bench. Shannon and Stella hung back momentarily, eyeing the newest arrivals as they began picking toppings for themselves and Annabeth.

"Is there anything you forgot to mention about Melissa?" Shannon asked quietly, turning her back to the rest of the group, both eyebrows rising expectantly with an encouraging smile.

Her girlfriend bit her lip nervously and whispered back just as quietly. "She really doesn't like me. You too apparently."

"And why is that? This is the first time I've met her."

"She happens to be a little anti-gay." Shannon's eyes narrowed. "Homophobic."

The older woman went to argue, ready to raise her voice for a fight, but Stella had to grip her hands and give her a pointed look to stop her. "The two of us can talk about it later, in the privacy of our room, and not when there is a five year old listening to our conversation." Shannon turned slightly to her left, looking over her shoulder to spot Annabeth staring up at them curiously, a plate of food in her hands forgotten about.

Shannon smiled at her and Melissa called her away to lounge room to eat with the boys. As the little girl walked away, she kept looking over her shoulder at them suspiciously.

"She's a nosy little thing isn't she?" Shannon whispered.

"Demanding, too. Just wait until she has one of her world class tantrums."

Shannon shook her head in shock and amusement, completely positive that she would see at least half a dozen tantrums over the next few days, and followed Stella to fix herself some lunch.

The midday meal was an awkward affair. Questions and arguments were stewing in Shannon's mind as she ate in silence. Melissa had not only ignored her easy greeting earlier, but any input she had in the conversations carrying over the dining table was passed over for someone else's, more specifically anyone else other than herself and Stella. It was obvious to the rest of the family, they were used to it after the years of being married to Frank, so no one spoke up.

Nina shot Shannon a sympathetic look. When she had finished her sandwich, Shannon felt Stella's hand find hers under the table and squeezed reassuringly. They spoke silently to each other. _'It was going to be a rough few days.'_

* * *

Stella and Shannon shuffled into their room at the end of the hall, the door snapping shut behind them. Dinner had been just as bad as lunch, if not worse. The only difference being that Shannon had actually been addressed by the only blonde in the house, even if they were more insults that polite observations about the weather. Stella rolled her eyes and pursed her lips when one had been rattled off about their sexualities.

Everyone had headed to bed not long after the meal had finished, mainly from the number of alcoholic drinks the adults at the table had consumed as the conversation took several turns for the worse. Oskar and Sarah had gone not long after Nina and Nikolai. With only Stella and Shannon, and Frank and Melissa left at the dining table, the older couple of the two had left the room to avoid having to spend unwanted time with his sister and her girlfriend.

The brunette fell on to the bed with a heavy sigh, as Shannon leant against the door.

"Now you know why I don't like her," Stella said, her arms tucked under her head, eyes raking over Shannon's form.

"Oh yeah." She edged forward, pushing off the door slowly. "You weren't kidding when you said homophobic."

"Yeah, I probably should have warned you about that, huh?"

"Yeah, you should have Stel." Shannon gave her a pointed look and dropped into her lap, arms circling Stella's neck as the brunette sat up. "In all the time we've been together, I've never known you to label yourself. So why does she?"

"She's never fit in, in this family. Narrow minded trust fun brat. Her entire life has been," Stella paused, her voice growing sarcastic and then dark, "_privileged_. And Frank has done whatever he can to try and fit into her lifestyle."

Stella's eyes became unfocused as her mind flew back to the day she came across her brother helping, actually helping a known crook, one that TR had been tailing. She had eventually kept it quiet, choosing to protect her family over the job she was paid to do. Stella knew that she should have told Kerry, but her decision to keep it quiet had been more for her parents; it would kill them to know that there was a chance that one of their children was actually a dirty cop. She knew it was selfish, but he was family no matter how much she disliked her brother.

A finger hooked under her chin, bringing her attention back to the woman in her lap. "Hey. What was that?"

"Nothing." Stella brushed it off and flipped them, pinning Shannon to the bed. "Now I think you have to redeem yourself."

"What?" Shannon laughed. It clicked when hands came around to cup her arse through her jeans, and Stella's nose nuzzled her neck softly. "Ohhh."

"Yeah," she replied huskily.

Their lips met deeply, bodies pressed as closely as possible in their current position. Shannon's legs were close to being wrapped around Stella's ribs. Together, a battle ensued, one woman trying to come out on top as their tongues fought for a gentle dominance. Hands slowly began to wander, tongues becoming entwined, and Shannon's legs fell from their place around Stella's waist, giving the woman on top of her a severe advantage. They pulled apart, with a quick intake of oxygen to ease the burning that had begun settling in their lungs.

A wide grin formed on Stella's face as the copper-haired woman had to bite her lip to stop herself from moaning loudly; the walls of the house were thin enough for a heavy make out session, but not enough for them to go much further. They would just have to be really, really quiet. Shannon's wrists were trapped above her head against the pillows with one hand holding them in place.

"Not a sound," Stella ordered, lowered her head, and at the same time, her hand across Shannon's stomach towards her jeans.

There was a playful struggle against the restraints. "You just love to be in control, don't you?"

"Not a word," Stella teased, her hand moved away from the top buttons of the jeans. "Are you going to be quiet?"

Shannon nodded silently, biting her lip again. The hand resting on her stomach slid lower again. The top button popped open with a tug. Shannon managed to stay quiet with a strong effort. "Good girl." As her hand finished lowering the jeans zipper, the fingers of her free hand skimmed the ribs under the white polo shirt she was wearing. A thigh slipped in between Shannon's and pressed against the now open zip, giving her nowhere near the right amount of pressure. Stella felt her body shiver in anticipation and her hips rocked.

Stella's chuckle was caught halfway through; when there was a curt knock at the door. They both groaned, and when the latch snapped open the two of them jumped apart, Shannon struggling to get her jeans fixed up before their guest clued in to what they had been doing, or to at least cover herself up. The new arrival stood in the now open doorway, watching as both woman rushed to straighten themselves out and avoid being caught like a couple of kids making out in the back of daddy's borrowed car.

If it had been Oskar to open the door, both Shannon and Stella would have copped an endless amount of crap. But seeing as it was actually Melissa, the brunette glared at her sister-in-law for her despicable timing. Her nightgown came to a stop mid-calf, with long sleeves, and was covered with a overly fluffy dressing gown. She had either been on her way to the bathroom or back to her room, her toothbrush in her hand.

"Yes?"

"Can you keep it down? I don't really want to hear the two of you...," her face dropped and she sneered, "doing anything."

"Well then the answer to that is simple," Stella smiled, making no effort to hide her displeasure.

"Don't do anything?" the blonde answered.

"Don't listen."

Shannon could hear her girlfriend's inner police officer beginning to show itself. Her voice had changed and was a typical response that would have come from the brunette when they were at work. She struggled to hide her smile at her girlfriend cheek, essentially agreeing with the tone she was taking.

Melissa huffed and left the room, the door closing with more force than actually necessary. Oskar could be heard out in the hallway, his own door opening and Shannon could imagine it in her mind, his head popping out with annoyance and curiosity. A moment later, when he decided that it was probably not worth his attention, his door closed again.

"Now you see my point even more," said Stella, as Shannon fell back onto the bed. Her jeans slipped open at the movement. Stella smiled and retook her place straddling her girlfriend.

"Now, I believe that we were in the middle of something," she whispered. "Before we were so rudely interrupted."

Shannon's chuckle was stopped midway when Stella's fingers slipped beneath the band of her knickers, tracing her slit easily through the slick growing arousal. It was obvious that she had to struggle not to groan. Her body arched up at the contact breathlessly, silently begging for more.

Stella began peppering light kisses across the hollow of Shannon's neck, holding the body beneath hers down, using her weight to stop Shannon from trying to get more friction and pressure where she needed. She wanted to see how long Shannon could stay quiet for, how long she could take the torture, before she broke and started begging. Her hands were released and immediately went along to grip whatever she could grab; the bed sheets; Stella's shoulders; Stella's hair.

Shannon's eyes stayed scrunched shut, concentrating on her breathing instead of how much she desired Stella's fingers to be pumping in and out of her. Stella wasn't able to keep her girlfriend down for long, the feelings between her legs became too overwhelming to let anything stop her from showing that, especially if she wasn't allowed to make any noise.

Stella's fingers slipped into the heat, taking pity on her girlfriend and began pushing against the tight muscles furiously. There was another bruising kiss when Stella added a third finger. Her free hands gripped at Stella's shoulders, to try and control the spasms that were beginning to overtake her body. Within seconds, Shannon's walls were clenching around Stella's fingers and she came with a violent shudder. Stella collapsed, completely spent and her arm burning with the exertion.

When Stella pulled back to examine Shannon's face, her fingers gradually slowed. Her girlfriend's eyes opened slowly to take in Shannon with a grin. "Well I stand corrected."

* * *

**So?**


	20. The Confrontation

**Once again, I keep opening up pages from my favourites bar. Once again, nearly a month later. So the characters of Annabeth and Melissa were specifically created for your guys to dislike, seems like I'm doing something right there. PS How is everyone liking the new season? Some interesting story arcs that will make an appearance eventually after The High Life aspect of the story summary takes place, which we are starting to delve into. Also, I think this chapter ends a little abruptly, so sorry for that. I was in a hurry to get it up. *dirty mind again***

**You guys should be happy that after a discussion with an enthusiastic HappyHereford, the initial storyline of The High Life has been extended to include a crossover with another show on Australian TV, and past characters. Feel free to guess those as well as if Frank is really dirty and who his boss is, but I won't tell. And neither will Hereford...hopefully. You can't guess. If you do, I won't give you anymore details. Hahaha. Srsly!**

**K - Thanks for the review.**

**HappyHereford - the notification may not say before midnight, but I swear it was.**

**ShannonandStella - Thanks for the vote of confidence.**

**In A Rush - Oskar and Sarah were meant to be the loveable ones, but I'm realising the mistake of having so many names beginning with the letter 's'. Melissa also gets put into her place so enjoy that. More D&M to come, but its a little vague in this chapter. Hopefully I'll get around to it.**

**Vicky - thanks for the long arse reviews. Appreciate it muchly. You can't have a meet the parents without at least ONE cliche. It won't work otherwise :P. We get a bit of an introduction into the problems between Frank and Stella, but not much so I can keep the story going. We'll find out the deets later. I thought a topic of kids would tie in nicely with Sarah's possible pregnancy and my other fic 'Baby', aparently it did.**

**Enjoy guys, let me know. Once again, feel free to guess the previously mentioned topics.**

* * *

The party was in full swing by the time the guest of the hour showed up in the parlour room in the back of the local pub. The room was full of party guests, both family members and friends mingling over food and alcohol. Kids were running around, trying to escape the clutches of Oskar as he chased them through the maze of people, proving to the rest of the adults just how much of a big kid he could really be. Nikolai walked into the room wearing his best suit and a proud smile on his face, as he gazed over the wave of people occupying the room, Nina at his side copying the gesture.

Shannon had managed to persuade Stella into a dress for the night, despite her protests back at the house. It was a rare sight. They were swaying gently on the dance floor, arms wrapped around each other, smiling. The older woman of the couple however, was wearing slacks and a neat blouse. Nik's eyes shifted and found his eldest son giving piggy back rides to the youngsters circling around his legs, while Sarah watched on laughing with amusement. Melissa and Annabeth were sitting across from her at a nearby table, gazing at the gang of misfits as if they had been taken from their high priced lifestyle and dropped into the middle of an old fashioned hoedown. Which was pretty much what had happened. Frank was hiding in a far corner, taking rapidly on his phone.

When people started noticing Nikolai standing one step above the rest of them, they all began clapping and their kids rushed forward to be in the front. The three Dagostino children were lined up from oldest to youngest, toasting glasses of wine in their father's direction. The six of them had disappeared before their mother had the chance to offer up a light meal for dinner, and Oskar had had a small panic attack when he could remember where he put his gift. Sarah ended up waiving it in front of his face after a few minutes of a hurried search in the back of the car.

Nina and Nikolai moved off to greet the party guests when the initial celebratory cheering finally died out, aiming for Oskar, Frank and Stella first off. Hugs were traded with kisses to the cheek and offerings of 'happy birthday'.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble," Nikolai said, just as his arms circled his only daughter. She scoffed and giggled and hugged her father back.

"Of course we did, Dad. It's your sixtieth," she answered honestly, before her sarcastic side made an appearance. "We really wanted to be the ones to send out all of those invitations and make all of these arrangements and phone calls and pay for the whole thing."

"Ahhh, shut up Stella," said Oskar with a gentle shove to his sister's shoulder. The group laughed as the youngest disappeared into the crook of Shannon's neck in mock embarrassment.

"Well go on then," said Frank, trying his hardest to ignore his little sister wrapping her arms around Shannon and the beeping of his phone. "Go and say hello to all of your guests. See who's here and such."

It was obvious to Stella that Frank's mind was still in the city, apparently still on his work. Earlier in the day, after he had already walked outside to take a few phone calls, Oskar and Stella had made him promise to keep work out of the night's celebrations. He had protested, claiming that he was on a big case and that even the few days off he had taken was a stretch, but eventually gave in to his siblings. Typically, he went back on it word.

Another round of smiles and their parents were off to meet everyone. Nina was sure that half of the people there were simply freeloaders, crashing for the open bar. She shrugged at the thought, they would all be drunk soon enough. As long as there would be no spontaneous outbursts of violence or loud arguments, the more the merrier.

As soon as her parents were out of an ear shot, Stella had left the haven that Shannon's arms had created and slapped Frank on the shoulder of his expensive suit jacket. He simply glared at her, trying to hold Stella's icy gaze. "What?"

"We agreed no phones," she exclaimed, keeping her voice quiet as to not spook any of their guests. She was about to continue scalding him, but her sister-in-law cut in.

"His job is very important, Stella. You can't expect him too simply to cut himself off from what he does best," Melissa snarled.

"I hate to break it to you Melissa," Shannon started gently. The woman really was beginning to get on her nerves, and she became smug when she continued. "But out of the six of us standing here, four of us are cops. And three of us have managed to cut themselves off, just for a few days. All Stella is asking for is a few hours."

Sarah smirked at Stella, silently proud of the brunette's girlfriend. Oskar and Stella had covered their mouths, trying to hide their smiles and quieten their giggles. To put it simply, Melissa had just gotten owned by the new kid on the block. It had been a while since anyone they knew had put Melissa in her place. The last time was a few years before and Sarah and Melissa had gotten into it over a family dinner. Stella had been ready to lean back in her, start chanting 'Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!', and making bets over who would in, until her mother had intervened and called them back to their respective corners.

Stella nodded, a grin still evident on her face when her hand finally fell away. "Yeah. What she said."

Frank was once again glaring at his little sister, wrapping his arm around his wife as the others disappeared into the crowd to dance some more. He wasn't able to ignore the incessant noise of his phone, so he pressed a kiss to his wife's temple and headed for the open door, a more quiet area to finish his calls for the night. Outside was most obvious area, so he headed for the open doors.

The noise had became visibly louder as the group of four had blended into the small sea of people, Oskar immediately stretched out for a high-five from Shannon. Stella looked back and saw that Frank had disappeared. The sound of skin slapping skin made several other people turn and look. But they would only find Stella dipping Shannon and pulling her into a deep kiss.

When they came apart, Stella could have sworn she heard a small squeal escape her girlfriend's lips. Similar to the one like that time Stella had kissed Shannon in front of the boys, just to make Leon and Christian shut up about the Senior Sergeants celibacy vow. Shannon came to hide in Stella's neck again, the blush heated her pale skin as it visibly coloured her cheeks.

"You are definitely my girlfriend!" Stella smiled proudly.

"That's good to know," she replied sarcastically, crossing her arms after pulling herself from Stella's arms.

"I believe we have had this conversation before," Stella said, wrapping her arms around Shannon from behind and making a show of trying to remember.

"And how did that turn out?" Oskar asked after a few seconds silence from his sister.

"I'm pretty sure I was in the doghouse for all of two minutes." They all laughed again. "But only because I got wicked skills."

"I would think you would have been able to avoid the doghouse all together," Oskar remarked, his eyebrows dancing comically at the underlying suggestion.

Shannon simply shook her head at her girlfriend and let her hands cover her face in embarrassment. It was true that Stella had no filter on her mouth when it came to family reunions, especially when she was hanging out with Oskar.

"Hey Stel, how about we go and get some drinks for our ladies here," Oskar suggested. There was a twinkle in his eye that all three women could see, but none of them commented on. Stella smirked at her brother's idea, her girlfriend turning in her arms to find an identical spark in the dark orbs.

"Yeah, sure." She left go, unable to hide her grin. "Do you want some wine?"

Shannon nodded. "Thanks, hun."

The two Dagostino's walked away, towards the bar. Their partners watched them head towards the bar for some drinks and spotted Stella looking over her shoulder to make sure that they weren't being watched specifically.

"They're up to something aren't they?" Shannon asked Sarah, her arms crossed over her chest.

There was no doubt in the blondes mind. "Oh yeah. Easiest thing to do is turn your back and just let them do it, no questions asked."

"Why?"

"Because then you have plausible deniability when Nik and Nina come asking as to what the hell happened." They shared a giggle of understanding and headed off to find some seats.

Oskar and Stella were working their way through the crowd towards the bar. She had already checked over her shoulder twice, but this time when Stella looked, she couldn't see her girlfriend and sister-in-law anymore. A quick pat to her brother's shoulder, and the two of them changed course; the open door leading to the darkened car park their new destination.

"You got the stuff right?" she whispered.

"Of course. It's in the boot of the car," he answered, his hand digging into his pocket for his keys.

They paused by the open set of double doors, and their hands automatically came out for a quick game of 'rock, paper, scissors'. The winner would head out into the darkness, pulling out the supplies from Oskar's car and the loser would be the lookout. Their hands bounced simultaneously three times; Stella's fist remaining closed to imitate a rock; Oskar gave a peace sign.

"Ha!" Stella exclaimed, holding her hand out for his keys. "Cover me. I'm going in."

Oskar followed her outside like a military man, fully prepared to army roll away but settled for hunching over and taking a position just by the door, hidden in the darkness and a large outdoor bench. If anyone walked out, they wouldn't see him straight away. They stopped when they spotted Frank down the far end of the veranda, nearly yelling into his phone. For a moment, it seemed like they were going to get caught, but he turned and went around the corner, completely oblivious to what was about to happen to his car. Again.

Stella ran from the pubs lights, hiding behind other cars until she found her brother's sedan, two vehicles to the left from the doors and six towards the street. She cringed visibly when the loud 'beep' of the locks changing echoed through deserted car park. The parkers flashed and Stella glanced over the hood of a worn commodore to double check on her brothers, to make sure that her sentry was doing his job and that her soon to be victim was still unsuspecting.

Frank was looking out into the car park, waiting to see someone emerge from the darkness, his policing skills were hypersensitive and on high alert. It was a highly stressful conversation he was having on the phone. When no one came out, he turned his back again, and went back to his phone call.

Stella had to be careful when she closed the boot; the lock was quite stiff and she nearly had to slam it shut to get the damn thing to click. With the plastic bag being held tightly to her chest to prevent any rattling of the cans inside, she ducked behind another car and through a row to the other side of the car park until there was a dark recent model family sedan sitting in front of her. Stella grinned evilly.

Twenty minutes later, the cans were wrapped in the plastic bag they had travelled from Ballarat in, and had been lowered into a rubbish bin closer to the street. Stella brushed her hands off, tapped Oskar on the shoulder when she came up behind him and together they walked back into the pub, unable to stop laughing at what had just been done.

"Oh hi there," Shannon grinned. "That took a long time just to get a couple of drinks."

"Oh you know, it was a long line," the siblings muttered together as they finally placed two beers, a glass of wine and a glass of coke onto the table.

"Sure it was," Sarah nodded knowingly, fully aware that something had just happened to her brother-in-law's new car.

"Alright. What did you do?" Shannon asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

Oskar looked at Stella, shaking his head to instruct his sister not to tell. The wait would be well worth the surprise. "You'll find out. When you can hear a rather loud yell coming from the car park."

"The two of you are incorrigible," Sarah scolded. "There had better not be any permanent damage, that's all I can say."

"Nah. It'll be fine," said Oskar, taking a scull of his beer. "However it all depends on whether or not Stel scuffed the paint."

"If I were you guys, I would stop talking." Shannon said, with a pointed look at her girlfriend. "Or else I will have to arrest you."

"Ohh yummy." There was a glint in her girlfriend's eyes as Stella smirked back at her.

"Please tell me that you left your handcuffs at home?" Sarah asked, staring at both women as several ideas came into her mind. Her eyes were wide.

"Of course I did," said Shannon. "From what Stel told me, she and Oskar were going to be trouble. And whatever happened out in the car park, proves that. Bringing a pair of handcuffs would only give them ideas."

"Shucks!" Stella exclaimed into her drink.

"Ha!"

"Shut up Oskar!"

Sarah praised Shannon for her smart thinking. "Smart woman."

The group spent a few more minutes talking about a range of topics in which Stella still refused to give up her present for inspection. Oskar had playfully accused her of not even getting one for her father, until they were interrupted by Mark and Robbie wanting their father to give them some more piggy back rides. When he trotted off, one child on his back and the other running circles around them, Stella turned to Sarah.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I have an appointment at the doctors a few days after we get home to make sure that it's real." Sarah began her explanation to the two women sitting across from her. "I would rather keep it quiet until I'm sure. If you get a hysterical phone call from a certain brother of yours, I beg you to act surprised. Please?"

"Relax, Sar. I can keep a secret." She was fixed with an accusing stare from Sarah. Stella raised her hands in defeat. "Most of the time...okay, some of the time...fine, only when I really need too."

Shannon smiled knowingly. So far the only secret she knew her girlfriend to be have been able to keep was their relationship. For eight months, Stella had gone on and on to Michael about having a girlfriend, but never actually gave up her name. She had a feeling that the only reason her name hadn't come up was because of all the time they spent together outside of work. Well that, and Kerry would threaten to fire them if they got carried away on the job.

"What is this, pick on Stella day? First I have this teasing me this morning." Shannon hid her blushing face in her hands at the mention of the morning activities that had not been entirely PG rated, purely at the amusement of Sarah. "Then Oskar giving me crap about my present for Dad, and now this."

The boys came back to grab something to eat, Oskar looking rather confused at the obvious sudden end to the conversation as he sat down. Sarah shook her head when he silently asked what they had been talking about. She brushed him off with a well timed kiss.

"Time for presents, Aunt Stel." Robbie spoke through gapped teeth, waiting for his adult teeth to make their appearance.

"Don't forget the cake!" his brother added in. For the last two days, all either of them had wanted was a big piece of Grandpa's birthday cake.

"That sounds like a good idea, boys. Let me go find Uncle Frank and then we can get the embarrassing speeches underway." At the mention of their brother, Stella and Oskar shared a humoured look before heading off to do their designated jobs.

Stella found her parents easily by the stage, laughing loudly and proudly with some old friends from Ballarat, over the noise of the live band. Thankfully, she was pretty sure that they hadn't seen her present. Well at least not the main part of it. There were a few people milling around that she had gotten Leon to find for her, ones that she had specifically instructed to avoid her parents at all costs until they were introduced.

"Hey guys," she said, wrapping one arm over her father's shoulder and enduring a few minutes of polite conversation until Oskar tapped her on the shoulder. "Time for the kids to give a couple speeches."

Nina and Nik looked at her curiously, until Frank cut in. "In other words, Ma, you need to take a seat right here with Melissa, and Sarah," he said, pointing to the table closest to the stage. Stella stayed quiet, but glared at her brother, completely aware that he had left Shannon from his naming of their partners. "And Dad, you need to come with us.

They shuffled along with hurried acceptances of the instructions and Nina took her seat, smiling to Shannon warmly as she sat down, facing the stage comfortably. All three children found their places on the stage, Nik swinging his arms by sides in anticipation at the other end of the line that had formed. The live band left the stage a little reluctantly, but still glad for the break.

"Fucking kill me please," Stella whispered to Oskar.

"Why?" Frank asked, watching the stagehand fiddle with a microphone before handing it too him.

"One; I hate public speaking, and two; I'm in a fucking dress," she glared.

"That conversation we had about who was more whipped, is coming back to me know. And at the moment, you are the most whipped person I know," said Oskar, smiling at her cheekily. "Besides, this ain't so bad."

"How do you figure?"

It was as if her brothers were on the same wave length and had the ability to read each other's minds when Frank spoke. They both had matching maniacal grins on their faces. "Just wait till your engagement party. That's gonna be all kinds of embarrassment."

Her face dropped as the suggestion of engagement nearly blew up her brain and she visibly gulped as Oskar took the mike to begin his welcome speech and a small explanation as to why all of these people had gathered at the pub. Way to go Captain Obvious. What was with all the serious conversations and comments she had been involved in and received over the last few days? Stella became lost in her thoughts over talks about future kids and engagement. Was she really ready for that kind of commitment, ready to settle down?

She was knocked out of the clouds when Frank nudged her shoulder, and the next thing she knew, there was a room full of people staring at her. Her girlfriend was visibly struggling not to laugh out loud at the awkwardness Stella was having on stage, from her seat two tables back.

"Come on Stel, speak up," Oskar prompted to his sister, earning a soft wave of chuckles from everyone watching them. "Are you going to explain your present to dad?"

Her glare collected a few more laughs than her brother's comment. "Alright, alright. You're so pushy," she joked. The laughs from the crowd boosted her confidence, and she had no idea what Frank had talked about in his speech. "Okay, so first of all I want to apologize to, ahh, whoever may be embarrassed by my gift – and no it isn't inappropriate. When my brothers and I were little, there was only one thing I can remember about our Sunday afternoons and that was that Dad would sit in the backyard or the garage with a few of his mates and his guitar, and have these little impromptu jam sessions I guess would be the correct turn. These guys were his best friends on and off the job, the five of them were family to each other."

The crowd mulled it over quietly and Oskar clapped and whooped loudly, pointing at Stella with a humoured smiled, as it clicked to what she was talking about. She laughed and blushed slightly, pulling her father closer as she continued her speech. He had obviously made the connection that Oskar had.

"Yeah, I think Oskar has clued in to what my present is. My brother, ladies and gentlemen," she explained, still staring unsure at Oskar as he cackled on one end of the small stage. "Anyways, from the stories I've been told and little bits I remember, Dad was actually in a tribute band called, wait for it, _The Real Police_. And he hasn't seen his band mates since we moved out here from Ballarat, about eleven years ago. Aside from us, this band was his pride and joy which is why I tracked them down to be here tonight. Can I have the band guys come up here please?"

Nikolai was joking with the people sitting closest to the stage, hiding his face in his hands pretending to be embarrassed by what was happening. Most of his friends in Bendigo didn't actually know about his musical past, even though he sometimes put on a show to the younger kids with his guitar. With encouragement from the crowd, three people rose up and half sauntered, half ran to the stage to stand on the other side of Stella, and smile politely at the people clapping from their seats.

"If you guys are lucky, maybe the birthday boy will play a couple songs with Mike, Gary and Simon. Unfortunately, Roy who was the drummer, he passed away last year in a car accident so there can't be an entire band reunion, but I give you _The Real Police_."

Mike was a rather plump man, short in stature with a balding head and stubby fingers that didn't look able to slide across the neck of a bass guitar. When he came to stand next to Stella in his half open shirt, he had his half empty pot of beer in his hand. His hand came down on her shoulder heavily, leaving a slightly red handprint on her skin. If only she had been wearing a shirt. Simon was the gangly one and the oldest of them all, with thin bony hands and a rather old looking tie hanging loosely from his neck. He was a gentle looking man who seemed to become one with his keyboard or piano, at least in the photos. Simon was the last one on stage and the last one to hug Nik. He had a small pot belly and looked like the kind of man that reminded Stella of her late grandfather, his wisps of hair already whiter than a piece of paper.

After the three men had embraced Nikolai, they stood interlocked together like a footy team singing the team song after winning a match. Just like they had at the end of the last show they had performed in a local pub in Ballarat that had essentially turned into a cop bar, the remaining members of the group bowed playfully to the crowd. His three children could tell that he was relishing in the feeling of being back up on the stage again.

"I think I just upstaged you guys for the rest of the year. At least," she whispered.

"Well yeah, we're already in October. How did you manage this?" Frank asked. He looked rather upset that Stella had been able to get one up on him once again. That, and she seemed rather cocky. He was just unsure what she was so cocky about.

"Yeah, especially without asking Ma."

Stella smirked at her brothers. "Let's just say, my tech guy is better than your tech guys. Took Leon all of half an hour to find these guys."

"You couldn't have let us in on it?" Oskar whined.

"What do you get a guy who has everything?" she asked, turning her body to fully face Oskar and Frank. They shrugged at her. "You repackage something he already had, doofus."

"Ahhh," both boys said. Their arms had been crossed, but as the realisation dawned on them, both of them seemed to almost comically break from their dazed expressions to nod, smile and wave their fingers at Stella knowingly.

One of Stella's uncles began a chant to persuade his brother-in-law and his band to pick up their instruments and play a few songs. As others began to join in, namely Nina and Sarah and the boys from their table, Stella found herself trapped in her father's arms as he hugged her from behind.

"This is one of my best presents ever," he smiled at her. She smirked at her brothers as they rolled their eyes and Frank glared back. "Thank you Stella."

"You're welcome Dad. Now appease your fans and play some music!"

She returned his hug tightly, handed him and microphone and practically pushed Frank and Oskar down the small slope of stairs, aiming themselves for the table of family members. Nina shifted over one seat to her left so that Stella could take a seat next to Shannon. It was a few minutes before the noise coming from the stage became anything close to resembling a song; they had to set themselves up to play without their drummer.

"That was a nice thing you did for your father, dear," Nina commented.

"He hadn't seen them in years. Besides it was the only thing I could really think off," she explained. Frank scoffed and his phone went off again. "It's a good thing, that that thing wasn't on when we were on stage."

He pressed another apologetic kiss to his wife's temple, and then to his mothers before heading back outside. They could all see that whoever was on the other end of the phone had some pull over him, stressing him out, and that he desperately just wanted a night to enjoy himself.

"Makes my open cockpit plane ride seem like nothing," Oskar exclaimed.

"You're just jealous that my tech guy is better than your tech guy."

"My tech guy is VKC. I don't have one in my contacts list. You forget that we aren't all a part of a tactical squad."

"I don't forget. I just like to rub it in your face," she grinned, poking her tongue out. She sculled the last dregs of her drink she had gotten from the bar just before her speech. "I need another drink."

"I'll come with you," said Shannon. Their fingers linked effortlessly and they headed in the direction of the bar.

After ordering their drinks, Stella turned to lean against the bar and take in the party atmosphere while they waited. Her father looked completely lost in his performance on the stage, the group staying true to their tribute band form, immediately popping out a rendition of 'Every Breath You Take'.

They sipped quietly on their newly opened beer and glass of wine, standing rather closely; Shannon's finger reached out to trace the softly tanned collar bone beneath the strap of the creamy dress her girlfriend had reluctantly borrowed for the event. The slight buzz was beginning to kick in, both of them having pretty much sculled their previous drinks, looking for an excuse for a few minutes of privacy in the crowded room.

"I like you in a dress," Shannon murmured softly. The strap slid to the left a little, exposing the thin sliver of skin it had been covering and she pressed herself into Stella. The tip of her finger disappeared over the crest of her girlfriends shoulder and down to the tattoos adorning the woman's shoulder blades.

"Yeah. And so does the guy at the end of the bar," she snickered, taking a sip of the Heineken she was holding. She involuntary shivered at the feeling of Shannon's finger drawing invisible patterns on her skin, and her arm came around the other woman's waist protectively, drawing her nearer.

Shannon suddenly became serious. "Which end?" Stella simply chuckled and swallowed another mouthful. "Stella, which guy at which end of the bar?"

"Your end of the bar, grey suit, brown tie."

Shannon tried to get a glimpse of the man who was attempting to perv on her girlfriend. She was subtle at first, but the moment she realised who it was, her face was hidden in the crook of Stella's neck, trying to hide her laughs with difficulty. She could feel Stella's body shuddering with the force of her amusement. Turning around, Shannon looked at the man again.

He was an older man with greying hair and badly trimmed moustache. His rather large gut had been sucked in to fit the stained off white button up shirt on. The straining buttons were hidden by his terrible brown patterned tie. They laughed into each other, trying to hide it and failing miserably.

Even over the noisiness of the crowd and the giggling she and Shannon were doing, the brunette's attention was pulled from her girlfriend when she heard the faint dull thud of a fist connecting with a solid body. It was the tactical trained officer within her that made her automatically seek out the source. There was a moment pause and Shannon picked up on it almost immediately.

"What is it?" Shannon asked, her chuckles subsiding slowly along with her smile. Stella wasn't paying attention to what she was being asked, but instead her gaze was focussed back on the door, a serious expression adorning her face. "Stel?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," she muttered, offering a smile to Shannon in order to keep her girlfriends attention on her. "Daydreaming again."

"It's not nothing, and no you weren't daydreaming. I know your daydreaming look and that wasn't it." Shannon turned and followed Stella's stare out the still open doors into the parking lot. Stella was stopped midsentence as Shannon took in the sight of a tall man, bald and wearing a faded leather jacket towering over Frank as he writhed on the ground in pain. It was obvious that he was succeeding in intimidating the middle child.

Instinctively, Shannon made a move to go out and intervene, hopefully improving Frank's opinion of her. She had barely gone three steps when there was a hand in the crook of her elbow, pulling her back tightly. When Shannon turned back take in her girlfriend's expression, she was met with a nonchalant woman, sipping from her beer and ignoring the scuffle outside. "Stella!" Shannon pulled her arm from Stella's grip quickly, not wanting to cause a scene. "What the hell is that?"

Stella looked outside. "Looks like Frank is getting his arse kicked," she whispered. It was the last thing that needed to be heard, otherwise there would be a rather large group of half pissed cops wanting an answer as to why a detective was getting beaten up.

"Yeah, he is. Well, aren't you going to help him?" Shannon pleaded. Her voice had begun to rise when Stella pulled her to the opposite end of the bar, the quietest place in the entire pub.

"No, I'm not."

"Why not?" Shannon looked at her as if she had all of a sudden sprouted an extra head and several more limbs.

"Because when Frank gets his arse kicked, it's because he deserves it," Stella rushed. "And Cue-ball out there, does not look like someone that we want to get involved with, Shan."

"He's your brother Stella!"

There was nothing Stella could say to that argument. She knew very well that the reason he was getting beat on had something to do with the illegal activities he had become involved in several years before. Yes, Frank was her brother and she didn't want to see him get hurt, but maybe this was enough for him to get his head out of his arse and prompt him to get clean and stay clean. It was a risk she was willing to take, especially if it was going to keep the rest of her family safe.

"Shannon-"

"He's your brother!"

The bartender had picked up on the tension and was finding reasons to stay near the middle of the bar to listen in on the first argument the couple had ever had in their almost nine month relationship.

"Don't you get it?" Stella asked, fear and anger evident in her eyes.

"Apparently not, Stel. Why don't you explain it to me?"

Stella was scared for herself and her family, and angry at Frank for the possible consequences of his actions, despite the fact that she didn't actually know what he had done. For all she knew, he only appeared to be a dirty cop, and was actually undercover. "I don't know," she lowered her voice when a few people close to them turned to look.

"I don't know why he's getting beaten up. But if we go out there and try to stop it," she couldn't give too much away or Shannon would never trust her professional judgement again, "we could become targets. We don't know who that is, or who he works for."

"If you're using the word 'targets', Stella, you have some idea what is going on out there. You know what that sounds like? Frank has gotten himself involved with something dangerous, and you know what is going on. Am I right?"

"I don't know."

"Don't give me that. You know more than you're letting on."

Stella was stuck. On one hand, she didn't know much about his situation, but on the other, she knew enough to make a snap judgement. She sighed and gave in to Shannon. "Alright, fine. I do know more than I'm letting on, but I don't know details. Hell, I barely know the basics. Which is why _we_ are staying in here."

"You can't just leave him out there to have the shit kicked out of him, Stella." Shannon didn't like Frank, she had expressed her opinion on her girlfriends brother several times over the past few days, but she was a police officer and it was her job to uphold the law, even outside of her uniform. "If you don't go out there, I will."

There was a few seconds of deliberation and icy silence between the two women. Stella was torn between keeping herself out of ESD's possible path and pleasing Shannon. She had had too many encounters with ESD, she didn't need another mark on her record if Frank got busted for something and the finger got pointed at Stella for whatever reason.

"I can't believe you. You really get along with him that badly, that you would let him get assaulted?"

"That is the reason I get along with him so badly, Shannon. I don't want to be pulled into whatever he is involved in. He's bad news."

"He's family. I don't like him either, but at least I'm going to help him." Her gaze on her girlfriend faltered for a split second, and she shifted to the open doorway. Stella began to form a relieved smile. "What are you smiling about?" Shannon asked, her patience fading along with her voice.

"Cue-ball's gone."

Shannon's head whipped around so fast, Stella was surprised that it didn't come off her shoulders. Mentally, Stella mocked herself for sounding like her mother. The Senior Sergeant's eyes sought out the dark colour of Frank's jacket against the already black background of the deserted street and car park. He was difficult to spot, but Shannon finally spotted his legs hanging out from between two cars as he collect himself.

"You still can't leave him out there. You don't know how hurt he is."

Stella sighed; Shannon had a point. "I'll check on him in a minute. Ma has been watching us for the majority of our argument."

Shannon suddenly became very aware of eyes boring holes into her back. She had been too wound up in presenting her points to Stella to have even noticed Nina watching the carefully. There was no way she was going to turn around to see if Stella was telling the truth. An arm came around her waist, pulling her body into Stella's. At first she was tempted to fight it, but once again, they didn't want to cause a scene. The brunette could feel the disappointment and mild anger radiating from her girlfriend's body as her arm came around Stella's shoulder. She was definitely in the doghouse now.

Stella waited until her father had finished another song before announcing, "I need some fresh air. This alcohol is going to my head."

Shannon untangled her arm from around Stella, going for the cheap shot. "Yeah, I can tell." The wine that was still in her glass swished violently as it was cast down onto the bar top. It was put down with such a thump that it caused Stella to wince.

Shannon walked away in the direction of the bathroom, leaving Stella to watch after her sadly. She tried to turn for the door casually, so it wasn't obvious that they had had a fight, but Stella failed miserably in her attempt. From the stage, Nik gave her a reassuring wink before she rolled her eyes, shook her head and aimed herself for the doors. When she finally made it through the throngs of people to the other side of the door, she shivered at the difference in temperature from her time outside earlier.

"So who did you piss off?" she asked with dark eyes. Her heels dug into the dirt as she stepped over Frank's legs to lean against the passenger side window of a beat up old Ute.

"Oh yeah, don't worry. I'm fine. Thanks for asking," he remarked.

"I didn't ask how you are, I asked who you pissed off."

He glared at her, nursing his ribs. "You don't want to know."

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Let me rephrase. I don't want you to know."

"You're in deep shit, Frank," she exclaimed. Her arms crossed over her chest in an effort to ward off the chill. "And now I am too."

"What?" he demanded. "What are you on about?"

"Me and Shannon saw you getting your arse kicked, and I got the third degree. She knows that something is going on, and I wouldn't let her in on it. Now I am in the doghouse because I wouldn't step in and stop that guy from beating the crap out of you."

"Fuck! What does she know?"

"She knows what I know," she replied cryptically.

"Which is?" She stayed quiet, and Frank practically growled during his effort to stand up. "Stella!"

"Nothing. I don't know anything, remember? I don't even know if you even are dirty, and I don't just mean because you've rolling around on the ground." She leant against the tray of the Ute. "So who was he?"

"I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both?" he asked with uncertainty. His usually strong demeanour was crumbling. With a strong push, he Frank was able to finally stand up.

"How far down whose shit creek are you? And where is your paddle?"

He glowed at the cheesy analogy, but appeased her anyway. "Pretty far down. I lost the paddle a long time ago."

"Whose creek, Frank? Whatever side project you've got going or ESD's?" Her voice became loud enough for her brother to become slightly panicked.

He bit his lip before answering. "You can't get involved."

"I'll take that as both," she muttered. "You're a dirty cop. My own brother is a dirty cop. Dammit Frank!

"I'm sorry, alright? I don't know what happened, or when everything started changing. I thought that a little more money would help around the house, give my wife the life of luxury she grew up with, let our daughter experience that world." Frank explained with hand gestures, as if it would help him to convey his points. Stella never broke eye contact with her brother. "And then I started getting in too deep."

"This is ridiculous. Why won't you just tell me what is going on?"

"Because if you get involved, he will come after you in one of two ways." Frank groaned. "Either to recruit you, or to use you against me. If he doesn't come looking, and he doesn't send his cronies, ESD will for sure. I know that you must hate me for putting you in this position, I would feel the same way, but we are still family. I have to protect you from him, all of you."

"From who, Frank? What are we talking here; underworld leader; local kingpin; drug traders? That one alone would explain the boosted income. Just tell me and I can help you," she begged.

"You can't help me," Frank whispered. "He's too powerful." He began trying to dust himself off, and Stella finally gave in with reluctance, getting his back for him. "Thanks."

"Whatever." Stella practically stalked back inside, leaving her brother standing alone, hunched over trying to catch his breath still. It was rather difficult for her, not being used to the pointy high heels on a dirt surface. Half a dozen paces, she turned on her heel and called back to him. "We're family! I'd back you up, and you know it."

Her blood was boiling in anger and growing disappointment in her brother as details she hadn't previously known came to light. It was definite; Frank was no longer a cop following the law, and it broke her heart. It was obvious that he was having a severe internal battle with himself, and she wondered how much her own paled in comparison to his. Stepping back into the parlour room, Stella's cheeks immediately felt heated, the rest of her body warm despite the lower temperatures outside and her current attire.

Eyes scanned the unsuspecting crowd; people were dancing, and gossiping, catching up as if they hadn't seen one another in years when in reality it may have only been weeks or even days. Stella found her father easily, he was still in the stage. Just like him, the rest of her family was found quickly still sitting at the table she had left them at. The only one missing was Shannon. A quick search of the room, even in her inebriated state, she knew that her girlfriend wasn't there.

A stop at the bar to get some water, and she was on her way again. But instead of heading for her family's table to act like nothing had happened, she aimed for the bathroom, certain that Shannon would be hiding out in there like they did at work for a few moments alone. The door creaked with age as it opened; Shannon didn't even look up from her place against the sink farthest from the door.. A older lady, one of Stella's Aunts, smiled politely at her niece and asked her if she was enjoying herself.

As nicely as she could, she brushed the family member off under the impression of really needing the bathroom. Her eyes never left Shannon's slightly defeated form as she was hunched over her now empty wine glass. Stella stopped less than a foot from Shannon, a fearful expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," she tried. She didn't get a response, so she attempted something else. "I love you."

Shannon pulled in a harsh breath, smiled softly and whispered, "I love you too. But you're not being entirely honest with me."

Stella trapped Shannon against the ceramic corners of the sink bowl, her hands finding the coolness easily. Her body was pressed flushed against her girlfriends. She figured that some kind of connection with the older woman, any kind of connection would help her to get Shannon to understand. The breath she knew she was holding was released in a huff when the detail of the wallpaper became momentarily interesting. When Shannon's attention fell back to Stella, her free hand came up to cup the brunette's cheek, which was immediately leant into.

"I know that there are things you want to know about, or feel that you need to know about," Stella's tone was gentle and soft, as she was desperately attempting to avoid sounding condescending, "but you can't know those details."

"Why not, Stel? Why won't you trust me with this?" Shannon pleaded.

This was too similar to Stella's conversation with Frank. "I asked Frank the same thing. If I was him, I would trust you in a heartbeat. I do trust you, with everything I am. I literally do not know details about what is going on with Frank. All I know is that he is in some trouble, and if either of us were to get involved it wouldn't end well. I don't know how bad it is."

"But it is bad?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

They stood there in silence as information sunk in. Seconds or minutes passed in a tension filled period of deliberation, neither of them could tell how long passed. The echo sound of glass being set down on the small vanity shelf below the mirrors filled the room above the dull thuds of the party in the room on the other side of the door. Shannon's arms were now free to pull Stella shoulders forward into a strong hug, which was lovingly and apologetically returned. Lips were pressed against Shannon's neck just below her hair line and fingers threaded through Stella's locks.

"Answer me one thing?" Shannon pulled back, her hands forcing Stella to hold her gaze. Her light eyes flew back and forth as she tried to determine if her girlfriend would tell her the truth. Stella's eyes were what gave her away, every time. The warm fingertips that had slid under the back of her blouse would not distract her. Stella nodded. "Do you think Frank is dirty?"

If Stella could have, she would have moved her head to lower her gaze, but it would have given away her answer immediately. She bit her lip. "Will it change your opinion of me or Frank if I say yes?"

"I knew you were protective of your family when I started dating you. I guess I just didn't know how protective. My personal opinion of Frank however hasn't changed. I still think he's the same arsehole that locked you outside when you were seven. My professional one however, is screaming to run to ESD and voice my views that he might be crook," Shannon explained.

"I sense a but coming."

"You know me so well." Shannon smiled at the comment. "But my relationship with you is conflicting with my professional obligation to do that. Not only that, I have no evidence, no witnesses, nothing to prove the allegations. How long have you known?"

Stella stayed quiet, mentally weighing her options. Lying to Shannon wouldn't do her any good, but telling her the truth would probably keep her in the doghouse for even longer. "A couple of months before Grace died." Shannon didn't seem surprised, simply nodding. "Are you mad at me?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm very confused at the moment, I'm conflicted over the whole thing," Shannon sighed. Stella pulled her into another comforting hug. "I have no idea how you managed to keep this to yourself for the last three years."

"Neither do I." Stella knew exactly how she had managed to keep her mouth shut; he was family, and therefore held a higher place in Stella's life over her job, so she simply turned her back on the idea of him being a crook detective. Unfortunately, it came back up every time they were forced to be in the same room together for more than five minutes. "Look, after Dom died, this was supposed to be our week off to relax and de-stress. And that happened for the first day or two, until Frank arrived and now all of that stress is back on your shoulders. I didn't want that for you. So if you want to go home tomorrow, we will. If you want some space, I'll give it to you."

"I know you would." Shannon brought their lips together for a slow, sensual kiss. There was nothing heated about the action, it was simply a form of reassurance for the Senior Sergeant that everything would be okay, that Stella would follow through on her promise. "I don't know what I want, besides being stress free for the next few days before we go back to work on Monday."

"I'll do whatever you want to make this up to you. Just tell me what to do." Stella was all but begging, their foreheads touching.

"I know you would," she repeated. "I don't want to cut into your time with your family but maybe we should go home a day early."

"Okay. We'll leave after lunch."

"Are you sure you want to give up that extra day with them?" Shannon asked. Stella had agreed so easily to the request.

Stella nodded sadly. "I've had them for my whole life, and I know I will have them for the rest of my life. But I also want to have you for the rest of my life. I need you in my life, so I want to make sure it stays that way. I love you."

* * *

**It ended abruptly didn't it? Yeah I know. Ah well.**


	21. The Overpaid Bodyguard

So I am actually at work as I post this. There is pretty much nothing to do for the next four and a half hours. On the upside, I have been offered at least 2 weeks full time work (1 week when the boss's wife pops out kid number 3, and another so he can go on holiday in January) plus Chrissy day. Money money money! So I can go over storyline possibilities in my head in my free time and mourn the loss of one of the greatest Aussie cop shows, aside from Blue Heelers, seeing as we only have one episode left. EVER!. I'm with Hereford on this one; we are absolute wrecks.

So now we are beginning to actually get into that storyline that I might have mentioned in the prologue; y'know that really long story summary that practically listed everything I was going to write? Yeah that. It's not my longest chapter but there is only so much one can write about how angry Shannon is with Stella, especially when I can barely remember words like 'infidelity' haha.

* * *

The atmosphere in the car was rather chilly, despite the warming afternoon temperature outside the vehicle as the two women sped down the freeway back towards the city. Stella was yawning her head off from behind the wheel; her mind hadn't shut itself off long enough for her to fall asleep the night before and her heart was being torn in every which way from Sunday because her girlfriend had refused to talk to her from the moment they arrived back at the house. For the first time in their relationship, they had shared the bed without touching one another in some way, shape or form. At the present moment, their hands were joined loosely, fingers barely twined together over the centre console; Shannon had had the night to sleep on the newly revealed information and process everything just a little more. But it didn't mean that she agreed with the way her girlfriend had handled the situation.

For Stella, the journey home seemed to be taking ten times as long as it had on the way up. Along with the fatigue racking her eyes and fogging her brain, she was emotionally drained after being chewed out by her mother for covering all of the windows on Frank's car, including the side mirrors, in shaving cream. Despite the hilarity of the situation, Stella's ears were still ringing with Nina's voice the next morning over breakfast. In the half an hour they had been speeding down the freeway directly for the city, Shannon had been mentally counting the times her girlfriend had yawned. According to her counter, Stella had yawned sleepily close to four dozen times.

"Do you want me to drive?" Shannon asked, letting her thumb brush across Stella's gently.

"Nah, I'm okay." The brunette took her hand from Shannon's, rubbing her eyes and thankful for the lack of other vehicles on the road as she pushed herself up in the driver's seat.

"You've been yawning all morning, and you drove up all the way up. Let me drive and you can sleep the rest of the way home."

Stella sighed reluctantly, fully prepared to give a speech that she was fine, the driving gave her something to focus on. Without a task to keep her mind on, she was sure that she would go crazy with the 'what ifs' and the 'buts' alone of her current situation. The silence was another thing doing her head in, but the high sound level of the radio was helping to drown out that aspect of her newly found hell. One look through her already drooping eyelids at Shannon, told her that there was no point in arguing; she would lose anyways.

"Alright," she agreed.

"Stel, I know you didn't sleep last night – wait what?" Shannon asked, slightly confused. "Did you just agree?"

There was a small huff of laughter from Stella. "Yes I agreed. I'll pull over at the next rest stop."

"Wow."

"What?"

"I've never known you to give up so easily in what could turn into a deadly argument," Shannon said, with a joking attitude.

"Oh, my God. You are so funny!" Stella mocked, her hand hitting her knee.

They shared a soft smile, one that seemed like a rarity that hadn't happened in years when in reality it had only been hours. Everything almost seemed back to normal when Shannon's hand reached out, smoothing the back of Stella's hair to cup the back of her neck. The younger of the two, leaned back into the touch. But then her hand was gone, and the dread had returned, burrowing deep and settling itself in the pit of Stella's stomach.

Within minutes, a road sign indicating a picnic stop half a kilometre up the freeway, came and went. Five minutes late, Shannon's SUV pulled into a parking spot alongside the kerb, Stella yanking on the handbrake with the necessary effort, the radio dying along with the engine, dropping both women into silence. To avoid the inevitable awkwardness, Shannon made a rapid exit, breathing deeply in the fresh air in an attempt to reign in her emotions. She had always been able to do so with complete ease, but when after becoming involved with Stella, that all went out the window.

Just like all of her usual choices, most rationality ceased to exist as Stella pushed her way out of the driver's seat with more force than necessary and stopped directly in front of the car, effectively blocking Shannon's path as they both moved to swap seats.

"Stel," Shannon began, her eyes pleading with shorter woman. She had very little energy, despite her full night's sleep. Becoming emotional would only diminish what she had left.

"I don't want to lose you," Stella whispered. She all but flung herself against Shannon, connecting their lips. With one arm around her girlfriend's shoulders, holding their bodies together as her free hand cupped her cheek, Stella poured as much emotion into the kiss as possible. The copper haired woman let her arms wrap tightly around Stella's ribs, squeezing rhythmically. Stella felt her feet leave the ground, her toes mere millimetres from the pavement. Seconds later, her legs wrapped around Shannon's waist.

Tongues had snuck out, seeking a more physical connection, but not finding it because they had begun to smile into the movement contently.

"You're not going to lose me." Foreheads were touching, eyes closed at the pure intimacy of the moment they were sharing, until there was a giggle to the left somewhere. Both heads turned towards the source of the noise to see an early pubescent gangly boy practically drooling at the sight of them as they made out in the parking lot of a picnic rest stop halfway between Bendigo and Melbourne.

"Promise?" Stella asked, her eyes not leaving the boy. Her ankles unhooked from behind Shannon's back, toes finally reaching the ground. Their arms, like their gazes, did not falter in their exertion of holding on to one another.

"Promise," Shannon agreed, her eyes too trained on the teenager. "Can we get back into the car now?"

"Yeah."

Reluctantly, they untangled themselves from each other and made their way to the opposite sides of the car. Shannon had started the engine, and pulled out from the rest stop, as Stella kept an eye on the teen from her seat. He was still staring at them and the car had barely made it half a kilometre down the road when the two women burst out laughing at the hilarity of the moment. It was just like old times, and while it was going, there was no way that Stella was going to comment on it.

It took a while, but eventually their laughing died down, enough for them to actually be able to hear the radio. Still giggling, Stella smiled at Shannon from behind her sunglasses.

"I love you, you know."

Shannon couldn't help the small grin spreading on her face, and she mentally scolded herself for it; she was supposed to be angry or upset or disappointed, but just hearing those words from Stella made any negativity she was feeling disappear instantly.

"I know." Shannon took her eye from the road for a glance at Stella. "I love you, too."

There was a tone in the driver's voice that told Stella that that sentence was not finished. "But? Come on, I can practically hear it."

"You should get some sleep. You're still tired. I'll wake you up when we get h-...when we get back."

Stella's stomach dropped at her girlfriend's hesitancy, and the obvious brush off. They weren't going home, they were simply returning to the city. She agreed with a sigh, but pressed on last kiss to the knuckles of Shannon's left hand before reclining her seat enough for her to be able nap away the rest of the dive home. She simply refused to ease her grip on the fingers threaded with hers as the world went dark.

Shannon now had just under an hour and a half to consider her options regarding what she was going to do when they actually arrived back in the city. Would she go straight back to her house with Stella in tow, feed themselves and then fall into bed, forgetting certain things of their trip as if they never happened? Would Stella be dropped off at home, alone, to presume the worst and then head to the nearest pub to drown her relationship sorrows? The traffic wasn't getting any heavier, she could afford to shift more of her attention to her thoughts. She couldn't make a decision about what to do once her seventy minutes were up; first she had to try and decide how she felt about the whole Frank thing.

* * *

It was border lining on eleven pm and Shannon's knuckles were continuously connecting with the heavy wood that was Stella's apartment door. It had only been hours and was struggling to find herself satisfied with anything less than a photograph including Stella. Earlier when she had navigated her way through the outer suburbs of Melbourne's central business district easily, and after much deliberating on the drive back, Shannon had made a snap decision, willing to deal with the consequences later, simply needing more time and solitude to really consider things.

_The car lurched to soft stop. "Stel. Baby wake up," Shannon whispered, having turned in her seat to shake the sleeping woman. Similar to that of a small child, the brunette's head rolled on the head rest, sunglasses slipping most of the way down her nose. A closed fist came up to rub the sleep from her eyes, as Shannon pulled her girlfriends face towards her own._

"_Are we home?" Stella mumbled, trying to focus her sight and determine their current location. She turned to look through her window only to feel her stomach drop a second time in less than two hours; they were parked outside of her apartment building. Her head whipped around to face Shannon. She spoke slowly. "Are we staying at mine tonight?"_

"_Uh, no," came quietly with a grimace. Stella inwardly groaned, she knew what was coming. "Listen, I just need the night to sleep on it. Alone. Without any interference."_

_Stella nodded, accepting her fate. She didn't want to be alone; her first and only assumption was that Shannon wanting space would definitely result in the end of their relationship. "Okay."_

"_I didn't think you would be so easy to convince. You know that this isn't the end of anything. I just need to process it, is all."_

"_I know," Stella agreed. "I'll see you at work in the morning then?"_

"_I'll pick you up," Shannon suggested, with an easy smile._

_Stella simply nodded again. 'If only,' she thought. There was one last kiss as a parting goodbye, and Stella pushed her way from the car without another word. She grabbed her bag from the backseat, shut the back passenger door and trudged her way to the security door, disappearing from Shannon's view and up the stairs._

_She huffed in defeat, started the engine and started for her own home. After hours spent deliberating over what to cook herself for dinner, or if she could be bothered doing her laundry, or going to pick up her cat from the neighbours house where the kids had been looking after him. She was doing anything to keep her mind off of Stella or Frank, and seemed to have finally succeeded when she managed to make it through the evening news program without so much as a thought of the siblings._

_By early evening, she was worn out through her constant after meal pacing, trying to prevent herself from picking up the phone to hear Stella's voice, or driving over there immediately. Shannon considered an early retirement to bed, only to get ready and settled to find that she was more awake than ever. Without bothering to get changed out of her pyjamas of a tank top and shorts, she slipped her feet into a pair of thongs, grabbed her handbag and practically ran to her car. Twenty minutes later and several deliberate wrong turns later, she finally arrived at Stella's door knocking impatiently._

Without bothering to check the peep hole to see who was banging on her door late at night, Stella flung the door open. Shannon nearly fell forward over the threshold with the strength of her knocks, spotting Stella's bare legs before her surprised expression.

"I thought you weren't picking me up until seven thirty, eight o'clock _in the morning_?" Stella asked, crossing her arms.

"You were right." It was as if it was rather difficult for Shannon to say those three words, as they came out with slight stutters.

"About what exactly?"

"I jumped to conclusions, about Frank. You were right. We don't know the severity of his situation, even though I have suspicions and I'm sure you do too, but I jumped to conclusions over a period of time that was shorter than the one you had to consider everything."

Stella simply looked at her curiously, arms crossed. Time passed quietly, both women standing stock still, staring at each other. "You sound like a cop."

"I am a cop," Shannon said, agreeing with the notion.

"Yeah, you are. We both are. I know what I am doing, what I have been doing and I know that it isn't ideal," Stella explained. "But what are you going to do?"

Shannon contemplated ideas and choices in her mind rapidly. "Nothing. I'm not going to do anything, because I don't know anything."

"Okay." Stella seemed rather nonchalant.

"You sound like that was the answer that you wanted," Shannon remarked.

"It's not the specific answer I wanted. I am glad about the choice, yes. But overall I just wanted to know what you were thinking. Now we can put it all behind us." They both nodded at each other. "It's late. Are you going to come in and stay the night?"

"Only if we get to snuggle tonight."

"Deal," Stella agreed, finally pulling Shannon into the apartment for what was probably the first time in weeks.

* * *

In the several weeks that had followed their return to work after their compassionate leave, and the subsequent disagreements between the couple, all had been forgotten due to the heavy abundance of crimes taking place over all over the city. Shift after shift, the TR teams had to deal with petty thieves and crooks, minor break ins, domestic issues and a few hostage situations. Their overtime had increased tenfold in the twenty something days they had been at it; Stella was only concerned with whether or not her overtime pay was coming in, so she could spend it on Shannon.

As they entered into the thirty something days, there was one shift that really stood out to Stella. She was sitting in the back of TR1, Shannon driving and Lawson riding shotgun. They were running through usual haunts for a newly discovered thug crew who had begun wreaking havoc in an effort to become top dog in the area. They were stopped at a red light, waiting for it to change so they could make their way down a main street when she had to do a double take. Standing there outside a pub in West Footscray, in broad daylight at ten in the morning, was Cue-ball, hammering what looked like a local dirt bag about something of some importance to his criminal activity.

When they turned, she saw that it was Gary, the crook she had let go after finding out Frank had given him the tip off he was being watched; they had known each other for years. Thoughts began accumulating in Stella's mind, tossing up on whether or not this guy was a deeply undercover cop, or really high up on the criminal food chain. She was weighing up the pros and cons as the turning lane adjacent to theirs was given the green light to go. If he was a cop, he wouldn't have beaten the shit out of Frank. Then again, if he was that high up on the food chain, he would have had to have beaten Frank to keep up appearances.

"What are you looking at?" asked Josh, noticing the level of concentration on the Senior Constables face.

Just as her focus was pulled from the thugs, and she turned to face Lawson, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cue-ball throw a punch in Gary's direction.

"Street fight," she said, against her better judgment. He was involved with Frank. Identifying herself could only mean bad things for her.

"What?" he asked dopily, looking over his shoulder. "Where?"

"Should we break it up?" Shannon asked, taking a look in her passenger side mirror, but having a difficult time due to Lawson's body taking up almost all of the space between his seat and the dashboard, effectively blocking her view.

At her question, he turned around and looked at her with an expectant look. "May as well. Shan, chuck a u-ey, let's go have a look. Where were they Stel?"

As Shannon made the u-turn, Stella began pointing out where the two had been arguing. "Outside that pub right there."

Just as the car pulled up on the opposite side of the road, Gary hit the deck hard as passers by simply watched and cleared the immediate area. Stella and Lawson were practically out of the car before it had even had time to fully stop. Seconds later and Shannon was following them, dodging the oncoming traffic from both directions as they went. Lawson reached the meaner looking man of the two, pushing him roughly against the closest exterior wall of the tavern as Stella immediately went to Gary's aid.

"Covering!" Shannon announced, pulling her Glock from the holster clipped to her thigh and aiming it at Cue-ball. Lawson began performing a pat-down, ordering the man to stay put against the wall and to spread his extremities far enough for him to search him effectively.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" he asked, pulling out a handgun large enough to fit his meaty paws, from a holster beneath his left armpit, and then another one from his right side.

"Weapon's clear," Shannon said, taking both guns from Lawson and clearing the chambers. She had to pick up two shell casings from the pavement.

"Fired those recently?" Lawson questioned, before slipping cuffs over his wrists. He didn't get an answer. At least the answer to his next question gave a better indication when the man huffed guiltily, and hit his head against the brick wall in defeat. "Got a permit to carry two concealed firearms?"

Knowing that Lawson had a good grip on the guy, she looked at Stella. If Lawson had glanced at them, if would have looked as if Shannon was going to ask her colleague if she needed any help with the wounded man lying on the floor. However, both women looked up simultaneously at each other, the same thought running through their minds.

'_Just when we were getting past this guy.'_

As Stella made a small show of offering any medical attention to Gary, and she was sure that Lawson and Shannon weren't within hearing distance, she whispered to the bloody man in a tone that said '_you have no choice but to agree with me'_. "You don't know me, understood?"

He nodded without hesitation, and accepted the piece of gauze to apply to his bleeding nose. She stood up, swapping positions momentarily with Shannon as her girlfriend had the higher certification for first aid. Stella watched as Lawson sat the guy down in the familiar position. She watched this man, the one that had beaten up her brother in a similar fashion, eyeing off name badge. His eyes lit up at the white letters spelling out her surname on the blue name badge. It was obvious to the Senior Constable that he recognised her, but where from, she had no idea. Stella could see him attempting to piece things together, even though he was already in a hairy predicament. She wondered how far away he was from connecting everything.

"Now what the hell is going on?" Lawson ordered. He had to push down on the assailants shoulder, to keep him sitting against the wall, his hands tied with flex-cuffs behind his back. When neither of them spoke, he spoke through his comm's and aiming his camera towards the bald man's face. "Leon, I need an I.D. on this guy."

Within seconds, the familiar voice of Leon screeched through their earpieces once again, (the boys had been ragging on Stella's decreasing ability to hold her liquor when they went out), with a name to go with the face of their new friend. "This bloke's name is Vladimir Udinov. Russian born, given a permanent residential visa six years ago."

"Any employment information, Leon?"

"Nothing specific, bounced around with a few construction jobs and such, but no current employment history available. No Centre-Link, nothing."

"Priors?"

"A list as long as your arm for misdemeanours. Minor assault and battery, attempted assault with a deadly weapon. And every time he got off with the minimal charge."

"Got to be working for someone with a bit of power or high up on the legal food chain if he gets away with it every time," Lawson muttered to Shannon. She didn't disagree with him. She wanted to know the answer to that question too. "Alright. Who do you work for?"

"What makes you think I work for anyone? That this is not simply a private matter?" Valdimir replied. His voice was heavy, laden with a calm combination of Russian and Australian accents.

"For one, the long list of prior convictions you've got, and two, you look like an overpaid bodyguard in that leather jacket. Leon, get some uniforms down here please."

"And what's your name?" Shannon asked, hand resting on the handle of her pistol as it sat back in its holster now that Udinov was cuffed. Shannon hadn't been there when Gary had been under surveillance, so she didn't know who he was.

"Gary Ryan. Gaz." Lawson spoke up, his body still facing Vladimir's. "I remember you. What was it, Stel? Two years ago?"

"Two and a half-ish. I think," she answered with a shrug.

"What was?" Shannon asked.

"We were watching this guy a couple years ago, but he got a tip off that we were there. We never caught him," their leader explained. "Never found out who tipped him off either."

"Yeah, I lost him in the Vic Market when I was chasing him," Stella added, giving the impression that she was staring at Gary with a level of despise. Even though she was running through that day in her mind over and over.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Gary demanded from behind his bloody nose.

"Don't give me that, you know exactly what we are talking about. Well, _Vlad_," Lawson started, turning to the Russian and making a small point to aggravate the man glaring at him, "want to tell me why you were beating up my good friend Gaz here?"

Udinov scoffed at Lawson's attempt to get him talking.

"It was just a simple misunderstanding," Gaz said, trying to keep the attention from the Russian.

"He was ready to beat the shit out of you," said Stella.

"Yeah, well," Gary shrugged. The three TR officers looked at him as if he were deaf, dumb and blind with a hint of emotions under the surface. "I don't want to press any charges."

"Are you serious?" Lawson asked. "This guy just assaulted you, almost severely enough to put you in the hospital, and you don't want to press charges?"

"No," Gary said. Stella pushed another piece of gauze up his nose sharply, and resisted the urge to slap one to the cut above his eyebrow harshly. Even with the flash of pain across his face, Stella could see a level of fear and anxiety on the man's face.

"Fine. We can't force you to press formal charges, despite our advice to do so," Shannon added.

Lawson pulled Udinov to his feet, and turned him around with some extra unnecessary force. "You now have a formal warning for another assault. Your name pops up again and you will be arrested for it, understood?"

"Sure, whatever," he agreed, mocking Lawson's warning.

"But for now, you will be charged for carrying two concealed weapons without a permit." With a push, Vladimir Udinov gave a pointed look at Gary and muttered something in Russian under his breath, probably that he would get him later when he couldn't be protected, even though Gary had kept him from being downed with another assault charge. There were three uniforms that had just arrived, and two of them grabbed hold of Udinov's elbows to escort him. The last one, Constable Walters, stayed a few minutes to grab a quick summary report from Lawson so he could be charged. He made the same gesture at Stella as well. Lawson stepped in front of her, thinking that it was aimed at him. "Keep walking!"

Udinov was pushed through the small crowd that had gathered at either end of the footpath. They parted without a warning needed, letting the officers and now prisoner pass through them and then as they turned the corner to reach the uniformed cruiser, then dissipated back into the mainstream flow of passersby.

"You want us to take you to a hospital?" Shannon asked. "We can get an ambulance down here, or another police cruiser to take you."

"No, I'll be fine," Gary said, brushing off the offer and standing with a great pained effort.

"You understand that you are going against proposed medical assistance, no matter how minor your injuries may seem?" Stella asked.

"Yes, I do," Gary agreed, unwilling to meet the heavy gaze of Stella. "What I will ask you for though, is some more of this gauze to help stop this bleeding."

With a questioning glance to Lawson, who gave his permission, Shannon handed over a few more pieces of gauze to the man and sent him on his way.

"Idiot. Alright, back to the car," Lawson instructed. Zipping up the medical kit, Shannon and Stella followed him back across the road, once again playing chicken with the oncoming traffic. "I'm gonna have a quick chat to Leon about that guy, and I'll go get some lunch from the bakery. You two stay with the car. Any requests?"

"Since when have you asked or even offered to get us lunch?" Shannon joked, opening up the back of TR1 to replace the medical kit and take a note of what had been used for inventory when they got back to base at the end of their shift.

"Hey, I'm in a relatively good mood here. You should take advantage of it," he said, walking off in the direction of the bakery. They could hear his conversation with Leon over their comms as Stella jumped into the boot to sit on top of the strong box with the clip board, reading to take notes.

"I know we weren't going to talk about it anymore," Shannon said, the sentence dropping off as she counted items within the kit.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking." Her pen scribbled in the date and time of the inventory check.

"And what is that?"

"What are the chances we run into that guy over a hundred and fifty k's away from the place he beat the crap out of my brother?" Shannon offered a weak chuckle. "And the answer to that is: very slim."

"Now we know his name, we could get Leon to go a more thorough check on the guy."

"We don't need to know," Stella said with a firm tone. Out of the two of them, Stella had never been the one to use that tone; there had usually been a comical side to her tone. "Besides you heard Leon, no current employment history."

"And no Centre-Link payments either. Especially not high enough to afford the quality of that jacket."

"Shannon, we don't need to know."

Shannon didn't stop there yet, she was in a roll. "If he's not getting government hand-outs and has no current employer, he has to have a source of money. Which means cash in hand, a lot of it, and no tax payments."

"Shannon!" The Senior Sergeant looked up from the medical kit, stunned at the tone her girlfriend was using with her. Stella's gaze was searching the civilian population, the metal clip digging into her elbow. It took a moment, but three cars behind her hasty and crappy parking job was a familiar face leaning against a rather expensive looking Range Rover. Her voice dropped as she tried to place the figure that was so familiar and different at the same time. "We don't need to know."

It was a good thing that Shannon reluctantly dropped the topic of their conversation because Lawson came back with three meat pies, a stack of sauce packets and three bottles of coke. It looked like he had somehow managed to start eating his own lunch all the while juggling the drinks and the other two pies.

"Hey Lawson," Stella started, not moving her eyes from the man in fear that if she did, he would be gone when she managed to focus on him again.

"What?" he asked, with a mouth full of food.

"Black Range Rover, three cars down, now in the passenger seat. Look familiar to you?"

He looked up, and after a few seconds, his mouth opened in shock. "Is that-?"

"Yep."

Shannon was following their direction on focus, seeing who they were talking about as the car was pulled into the mainstream of traffic by a driver, driving right past them. He watched with a slightly angry expression as he passed. She would see him, but at the same time had no idea who they were talking about.

"Who is he?"

"Connor Barry." At her confused look, Stella continued. "Grace Barry. Josh's first love, and the Senior Constable you replaced. That's her widower."

"He looks really different."

"It's been three years."

"I thought he dropped off the face of the earth," Lawson commented, shrugging and showing them their lunch.

"Meat pies and coke?" Shannon asked. "It's pushing late twenty's today."

"Hey, it's the Aussie way."

"No, the Aussie way is meat pies and _beer_," Stella pointed out. Even though she and her girlfriend were currently involved in a slight disagreement, it didn't stop them from teaming up against Lawson over Australian pride, values and morals, despite the fact that it only was over some food.

"Yeah, well. We're on the job. Besides, you should be thankful I got you anything at all. I got some cookies too. But if you two don't hurry up, stop gasbagging and finish that preliminary inventory, you're not going to get any of these cookies," he threatened playfully, taking his seat in the passenger seat and dumping everything from his arms to his lap, and then over to the driver's seat, much to Stella's disapproval as she and Shannon swapped seats ready to tuck into their lunch.

The trio had been back to work for the final hours of their day shift, and with the day being a relatively quiet one compared to the previous weeks, they hadn't actually had to attend to any ongoing crimes or angry citizens. That was until they returned to the base, TR2 having pulled up in the garage only moments before their car, and they were met with a rather peeved off looking Kerry.

Before they got out of the car, Lawson commented, "Uh-oh, Boss-lady doesn't look very happy."

"How is this different from any other day?" Stella asked, heading towards the boot to grab the inventory list and a bag to replace in the armoury.

"Just don't let her hear you call her Boss-lady and you should live to see tomorrow," Shannon laughed. She grabbed the medical kit and slung it over her shoulder, before grabbing the last bag in the boot. Lawson slammed it shut behind them with a comical sigh.

"Lawson! Stella! Can I have a word?" she asked. Without stopping, she turned around and stalked back up the hallway towards her office.

"What did you do?" Shannon asked, as the three of them stopped at doorway to the stairwell to drop off the bags for them to be taken upstairs.

"Nothing!"

"Are you sure?" Lawson asked, giving her a stern look as her commanding officer.

"Yes, I'm sure. And I'll make sure Kerry knows that," Stella explained, loudly enough for Leon to hear her from the tech room. She turned on her heal and hurried up the hallway after Kerry, who was waiting impatiently in the doorway to her office.

"Boss-lady, I didn't do it, and if I did do it, I didn't do it alone!" She could hear Shannon laughing back down the hallway as the Senior Sergeant was left with the numerous bags.

"That's my line!" Leon yelled back from his worn out reclining arm chair.

"Sit," Kerry ordered, attempting not to show the amusement on her face. "I'm not even going to bother with the whole Boss-lady thing. Either of you two want to explain why I got a phone call from a Major Crimes detective, _warning us_ to keep away from a certain Russian criminal names Vladimir Udinov?"

"Stella spotted the moron beating up Gary Ryan in the middle of a crowded street. So what?"

"That low-life we were chasing a couple years ago?"

"Yeah, the one I didn't catch. Thanks for the reminder," Stella said, smacking her hands on her sides. "Why would this have to do with me? Why not have Shannon up here instead of me? Or even Josh. I mean, they are higher ranking."

"Because this certain detective was your brother," Kerry said. "Any idea why he is warning us to back off when Leon can't find any open investigation involving this guy Udinov?"

"Okay, here's the thing. I have two brothers. Frank? My least favourite arsehole." Kerry and Lawson simply looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"He's _your_ brother. Doesn't he tell you things like this?" Lawson asked.

"We don't get along. At all. The last time I talked to him before visiting my family a month ago, was Christmas last year," she explained, with a pointed look. "And for the record, I prefer the term 'arsehole'! Besides, he is a detective in Major Crimes. He wouldn't have to tell me anything as he is a higher ranking officer in a different division."

"You're sure that he never mentioned anything to you?" Kerry pressured.

"Yes," Stella answered sarcastically. It was an automatic reaction to avoid appearing guilty. The last thing she needed was her commanding officers asking more questions about this guy and connecting him in a more complex way to Frank and somehow to herself.

"Want to ask him for us?" Kerry asked.

"Not really. Can I go now?" Stella requested.

Kerry relented. "Fine."

The brunette thankfully left the two senior officers, who called Josh in when we walked past, to discuss the matter of Udinov. There was no doubt in Stella's mind that this would be the new Kronin obsession for the team. With no obvious signs of employment status, there were only so many ways he could appear to not be strapped for cash. Drug dealer, high end weapons dealer or mob connections were the few ones Stella could hear from her position next to Leon's chair for a quick gossip session before the office door slammed shut.

"Mate, you've lost your touch. I suggest that this weekend, you and me go out and get smashed. Completely off our faces." The screens in front of them changed, bringing up the main website and pictures to a new club that had recently opened in the city. Stella visibly hesitated. "What?"

"I think that I'm supposed to be having a night in or something with the old ball and chain," she muttered, as if Shannon was able to hear her, and Stella would be in the dog house for using the term.

"Ahhh, so that's why you can't hold your booze anymore."

She was winning this challenge. "Pfft, I could still drink you under the table, computer nerd!"

"Prove it," he demanded. He rocked back in his chair gleefully at the idea of getting pissed beyond belief with his best drinking buddy, he crossed his arms when the chair creaked surprisingly loudly, as Stella's face fell dramatically.

She mouthed 'fuck' to herself, knowing that she was trapped in the way of her verbal arguments. With nothing coming straight to mind, she stroked her chin thoughtfully. She wasn't able to provide the intelligence officer with a response to his challenge because Kerry's office door opened, her head popping out in the doorjamb.

"Inventory, Stella! Don't leave one of your commanding officers to do it all!" Stella's back instantly straightened, Leon chuckled at her misfortune of being told off by their boss, and the brunette turned on her heel with her head down while she practically ran for the stairs. "Leon! Work computers are not for personal use!"

All of the screens containing the party pictures disappeared faster than Stella had left the room. The idea of doing inventory wasn't appealing to her, but the upside was that she would be able to spend time alone with Shannon for only the second time since their shift started. Reaching the supply room on the second level of the TR base, which was in Stella's opinion was a really bad idea especially when they had to lug heavy five foot duffle bags up the stairs every day, the brunette immediately opened up the medical cabinet, and pulled out the quarterly term inventory forms.

It appeared that Shannon had already gone through the weapons bag and, upon Stella's arrival, pulled out the medical kit to take notes and restock the kit. Working in relative silence for the most part, only talking to compare notes and passes items to each other, Shannon could almost sense the anxiety creeping up through her girlfriends demeanour.

"Babe, is everything okay?" she asked, letting the clip board drop onto the top of some climbing gear. Now that they were at base, their lapel cameras had been turned off. But that didn't mean that anything was possible between Shannon and Stella, due to the security camera in the far corner of the room.

"It's a long story," Stella sighed, flicking through a few pages of the last inventory forms. Shannon had a look on her face that said 'I've got time.' "I'll explain when we get home."

After pushing the topic of Udinov earlier this morning, she decided not to pursue the topic this time, but indeed wait until they got home later on.

* * *

Yeah so let me know what you think at this small chapter that took a really long time to write. RIP Rush. I hate you, Channel Ten


	22. The Arrest

Okay, so now that I've updates twice in about a week, I have raised your expectations of me yet again. Or raised them to what they once where before I started updating once a month.

This chapter involves sex, engagement ring shopping, and Stella getting arrested. Who wouldn't like her in cuffs? Now I have to work twice as hard to please you guys, seeing as stupid fucking channel ten decided to axe one of the best shows on australian tv, for whatever reason. LONG LIVE RUSH! Hopefully this will help inspire you a little bit more In A Rush!

Hopefully everything will begin to make more sense, if you guys aren't connecting anything, PM me and I'll explain it to you better.

And also, it is almost the one year anniversary from when I first published this story. You'd thinkg I'd be further along by now ahaha.

Enjoy!

* * *

"You're not pacing anymore," Shannon said, watching with slight amusement as she hid behind her wine glass. Her feet were tucked up underneath her body and she was leaning against the firm arm of the couch in Stella's apartment. It was getting later into the evening, although the sun still hung low in the sky due to daylight savings. There was a pizza sitting on the coffee table, two slices missing. While Shannon had eaten one, Stella had the other slice, half eaten in one hand as she chewed on the thumb nail of the other lost in thought. It was as if she forgot that the pizza was her dinner.

The 'hmmm?' was proof that the brunette wasn't listening to her girlfriend, as she turned on her heel and walked heel-to-toe back in the direction she had just came from, never raising her gaze from the floor. She was muttering to herself, shaking her head from side to side as she considered something and then disagreed with the idea as if it were completely out of this world. It took Shannon a few more comments of 'your pizza is going cold in your hand' and 'what have you been smoking?', before Stella actually heard anything, having stopped at her glass sliding door to stare aimlessly at her balcony floor.

"Did you say something?" Stella asked, looking up to meet Shannon's eyes with confusion. She haphazardly took a bite of her pizza.

Shannon giggled and took a gulp of the red wine sloshing around in her glass. "Whatever Kerry said to you, it's got you acting weird."

Her comment only pushed Stella back into her mind, considering pros and cons of what Shannon was not quite privy to yet. Before the Senior Constable was able to turn on her heel and re-walk the length of her rather small lounge room, Shannon jumped up from her cushy seat to stand in her girlfriend's path. She let her arms settle around Stella's waist, hoping that the action would calm her girlfriend at least enough for her to explain what was going on.

"When Kerry called me into her office today with Lawson," Stella started. Shannon pressed an encouraging kiss the side of her neck. "It was to tell me that Frank unofficially warned Kerry to stop Leon and the rest of us from digging up anything about Udinov."

"The guy we arrested today?" Shannon asked, slightly stunned and confused as to why Frank would want to protect that guy.

"The guy who we saw beat the crap out of him in Bendigo." Stella leaned into the embrace, and took another haphazard bite when Shannon's arms tightened around her ribs. "I was happy, not having to put up with any of his bullshit. We witness him getting his arse kicked and now it's like he's beginning to suffocate me. Every time I turn around lately, it's like he's there doing something stupid. Again."

"You realise that you are contradicting yourself after pretty much telling me off for talking about this today?"

"Yes, I do. I am gonna kill Frank. This is all his fault."

"Looks like we are talking about this then," Shannon muttered. "Alright, I give in. Five minutes ago, you were bouncing back between ideas faster than Kerry's mood changing because we're all using the radios. Faster than I've ever seen you bounce back and forth between ideas."

"Is there a question there or something?" Stella asked, turning her head as far as she could considering their position.

"Yes, there is," Shannon replied. "What were these ideas that you were bouncing back and forth?"

Stella sighed. She knew that this was coming, even though she was the one who had pushed for the topic to be left alone. "I kind of overheard a few things just as Kerry kicked me out. And all afternoon, even though I don't want to, my mind has been unable to stop trying to make connections between Frank and Udinov, and all of these other variables."

"Like what?"

"Like where Frank is getting enough money from to be able to afford a brand new car, especially with the house they live in. It's not exactly cheap."

"What did you overhear in Kerry's office?" Shannon asked, giving another gentle squeeze.

"Certain illegal job titles. Ones that get you a lot of money."

"Kerry thinks that Udinov is mob?" Shannon asked, finally letting Stella go in what could only be perceived as shock. "Frank is Major Crimes. That department deals with that sort of thing, mob, larger drug rings, illegal weapons importation. Things like that some with a lot of power."

"Yeah." Stella huffed to herself, swallowing what was the last of her slice of pizza. She continued to speech in a soft voice, not wanting to get into an argument when they had just gotten back to normal. "When you trusted me enough to tell me what happened to you as a child, I didn't push you. I let you decide when you felt comfortable enough to explain. When you decided that you didn't want to talk about it anymore, I let it be. And I'm okay with that."

"Babe, is there a point you're trying to make here?" Shannon smiled.

"Don't mock me," Stella replied, a smile showing that she wasn't harbouring any hard feelings in her words. "Do know what I'm trying to get at, at least?"

She nodded. "You don't want to talk about because it involves your family, this is a little personal."

"I'm just asking for the same show of respect. It's not that you aren't already, I just don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't want to think about. I just want it over with. It's not even my problem and I'm still getting dragged in."

"That's a fair call." Shannon agreed with her, remembering when she woke up the morning after telling Stella of her abuse as a child. She had panicked thinking that the woman had left her because the news was too much all at once and Stella couldn't handle it. Only to head downstairs and find the brunette sitting at her kitchen bench, skimming through the police reports because she didn't want to know too much detail. When Shannon announced that she didn't want to talk about her childhood monsters anymore, Stella didn't push. It may not have had the same level of tragedy attached to it, but talking about Frank was personal for Stella because he was family. It was the least Shannon could do by not pushing the topic.

"I've been thinking about this for too long. It's in my head all the time." Two and a half years and she had never thought about once, not since she threw Gaz's phone off the edge of a bridge and into the Yarra River. Then Udinov had come out of nowhere to beat the crap out of Frank and the severity of the situation suddenly became very real for Stella. And since then, the thoughts had burrowed deep in her mind, spreading like a disease until she was unable to ignore it anymore. He was in trouble. He had to fix it, or it would only get worse. Being the only family member to know that there was such a problem, she had offered to stand by him but she was shot down. It was like being the oldest sibling and knowing that Santa Claus wasn't real, and Christmas was just around the corner. There was nothing she could do, but that didn't mean she couldn't stop thinking about it.

"It's been a month," Shannon said. "And you just said you don't want to talk about it anymore. You're still talking about it."

Stella turned in Shannon's arms, to let her own arms encircle her girlfriend, and to look at the Senior Sergeant, who was attempting to keep a straight face as though she hadn't said anything.

"Very funny."

"You know, if you need some help trying to keep your mind off of it until it becomes like second nature, I am all for helping," Shannon suggested. The smirk she was trying to keep off her face, but failing miserably at her troubles, tugged at the corners of her mouth incessantly until she gave in.

"Is that so?" Stella asked. The thoughts of Frank and Udinov and the possibility of mob involvement, and for some reason Connor Barry, flew from Stella's mind momentarily as she stole the last gulp of wine from the glass.

"Oh yeah," Shannon answered, taking the stolen wine glass from her girlfriend and set it upon the window sill. "In fact I have an idea or two that we could put into action, start working on clearing your mind immediately."

Stella laughed lightly at the comment, simply waiting for a line from a science fiction movie to follow. There was no doubt in her mind that the insinuation of Shannon's plans would keep the current overwhelming situation from her mind, but the length of time it would be gone from her thoughts was what she questioned. It wasn't until she felt Shannon drop from her grasp and onto the couch that she saw the glint in Shannon's eyes, the one that said she was going to be very sore and tired in the morning.

"Don't you dare tease me," Stella whispered.

"Promise me that you're gonna try to forget about it all," came back just as quiet. Her hands snaked forward to grip the back of Stella's thighs, pulling the younger woman to straddle her lap.

"And if I don't?"

"You're never gonna see this through." When Stella settled over Shannon's legs, she lowered her mouth to her girlfriends for a languid kiss which neither of them wasted anytime in heating up. Shannon's hands granted themselves permission to sneak up under the hem of the thin hoodie her girlfriend had taken from her wardrobe after work, fingers meeting the warmed expanse of skin with a growing eagerness.

"You know what I love about the clothes you wear?" Shannon whispered, ending the kiss to let her tongue draw a pattern down the length of Stella's neck.

With her hands focussed on removing the band holding Shannon's hair back, she had nearly missed the question in her distracted haze. "Besides how good they look on me?" she replied, tilting her head back to allowed Shannon more access and no doubt leaving herself prone to a hickey.

"Besides that, yes," Shannon admitted between nips.

"What then?"

"How easy it is to get them off of you," she muttered. Swiftly, Shannon's hands removed themselves from beneath Stella's hoodie, only to yank the zipper down to the end and slide the jacket down her toned arms. She continued quickly, and a second later the t-shirt Stella had been wearing underneath followed the hoodie, ending up on the floor closer to the bed than it was the couch. She was left only in her grey bra, standing out against her pale ribs.

Their lips met again, Stella's tongue pushed its way into Shannon's mouth without asking permission and her body arched into Shannon's just as fingers scraped gently at her back. Shannon pulled back just enough to breathe into her girlfriend's ear. "Promise?"

"Uhuh," She answered blindly.

With her shirt now gone, Shannon was able to press her lips in a trail down Stella's chest. The brunette groaned as a heavy feeling began in the pit of her stomach. The fingers that were squeezing her hips pulled at the clasp of Stella's bra, sliding it down her arms and dropping it carelessly without dropping her eyes from Stella's. Another grin spread across her face when Stella's fingers worked on the buttons of her shirt. All over

Shannon's lips took one of Stella's nipples into her mouth, their gaze never breaking except when they had to shuffle slightly to remove Shannon's form fitting button up shirt, and throw it in any direction over Stella's shoulder. Their current position of Stella riding Shannon's thighs made it just that little bit more awkward, but the woman trapped underneath managed to unzip the jeans her girlfriend was wearing and push her fingers past the barrier or material and into the slick folds to feel Stella shudder in anticipation.

Her chin dropped to chest just as her hips rolled slowly, revelling in the physical feeling of Shannon entering her. Stella cupped and massaged one of Shannon's breasts, and could feel the feeling in the pit of her stomach growing stronger with each stroke of the fingers inside her. "Shan," she moaned, blindly groping at whatever skin of the woman beneath her she could reach. The sound of her breathing became heavy and laboured as she attempted to focus on drawing out the feelings building up her orgasm for as long as possible.

As the force of Shannon's strokes became stronger, faster, harder, Stella could feel her muscles beginning to grow tense, and more specifically tighter around Shannon's fingers. The hum that left her throat sent vibrations into Shannon's mouth as kisses trailed just that little bit lower. The body of the woman above her trembled quietly, going rigid in Shannon's lap as she came hard all over the fingers inside of her. The older woman was grateful that Stella had been easy to coax over the edge; she wasn't sure how long her arm would have been able to continue pulsing in and out of her girlfriend at that particular angle.

Shannon pulled Stella into a tight hug as she came down from her high, arms encircling her ribs. She could feel breasts pressing into her collar bone and neck. The brunette's arms were hanging loosely around Shannon's shoulders, and she was trying to control her breathing. Stella was still experiencing spasms five minutes later when she was finally able to open her eyes, Shannon peppering kisses softly and slowly, her thumb flicking over the sensitive nub one last time.

"What a distraction," Stella moaned as Shannon removed her fingers, wiping them on Stella's jeans.

"It's good to know that it worked."

Their lips met in one last slow and sensual kiss. There was a small amount of shuffling and moving around until Stella's ankles were linked behind Shannon's back. The brunette made a small effort to keep their body's pressed together, to keep the cooler air from her breasts. "Take me to bed," Stella whispered.

* * *

The next morning, a very naked Stella had been shaken awake by a half-dressed, hasty Shannon who was yelling something about them being this close to being late for work. Skipping the morning after shower that she really could have used to wake up, Stella followed her girlfriend's idea and grabbed whatever clothes she could find, clean or used, and pulled them on. There was no time for a coffee, they barely had time to brush their teeth and make themselves presentable before the two of them rushed out of Stella's apartment to make the short drive.

They arrived with only minutes to spare before Kerry would have scolded them. Instead they were met with a rather stern glare. Stella simply shrugged her shoulders in question with a playful smile, and then ran into the locker room when it looked like Kerry might throw something at her. The woman didn't appear to be in a good mood today at all, and it looked as if the warning from the day before hadn't done any good; Kerry seemed to be more pissy that yesterday. Then again, it was early so maybe Leon would do something stupid to take the possible heat off of everyone else.

As they began getting ready, Shannon had opted for a quick coffee with Josh in the kitchen as Stella took to the bathroom under the guise to waken herself up just a little bit more with a splash of cold water to the face. Locking the door behind her, Stella pulled out her phone from one of the many pockets in her vest, and quickly attempted to get a hold of Frank, both on his mobile and office numbers. There was no answer on either lines, getting his voicemail and then the call cutting out rather abruptly as if the phone had been picked up and then dropped back into it's cradle.

When she exited the bathroom at the insistence of Michael, who wanted her advice on a date with Audrey, she spotted Josh and Shannon talking with their heads close and their backs turned to the rest of the garage. "So what do you think?" she heard Michael ask a few seconds later. Stella knew that she had no reason to worry about her relationship with Shannon despite their recent disagreements, or to worry about her girlfriend's current relationship with her former 'fuck-buddy'.

"What?" she replied, having missed her best friends explanation and question.

"I was asking what you thought about my idea for date with Audrey."

"Oh yeah," she said, with an airily expression. "You said dinner at a nice restaurant and then a night together at a hotel?"

"Yeah. She has roommates," he trailed off.

"And you still live at your parents house." Stella laughed at his misfortune and he looked rather mortified that she had to bring that up as he nodded.

"Sounds good," she said politely, patting him on the arm and heading out to the cars where Lawson was waiting impatiently with Christian.

"Girls with Josh, boys with me," he yelled out across the garage.

Michael looked slightly perplexed. He had been looking forward to spending the shift with Stella as they hadn't had much time together recently. And he wasn't referring to the never ending crush he had on his best friend. Within working conditions it had been a rarity since Dom's death for the two of them to be in the same TR car with each other.

"What?" Stella asked him, as they were heading to the cars.

"I thought you and I were gonna be with Lawson today."

She hadn't had time to check out the board in the offices, detailing the days main operations and who would be in what car with which team leader. "I'unno," she mumbled.

"Josh did you change the-," he began to ask.

"Shan you're driving. Stel, let's go," Josh interrupted, jumping into the front passenger seat of TR2 and slamming the door before Michael could finish his question.

Michael huffed and followed Christian, arguing over who got to drive. Christian won in the end after Lawson yelled at them to get a move on. It seemed that most of the senior officers were in a bad mood this morning. Shannon and Stella shared a quick look in the rear view mirror, both women hoping that Josh wouldn't be in as bad a mood as Kerry or Lawson otherwise the day would turn out to be quite unpleasant overall.

As the day progressed however, it seemed that Josh wasn't in a bad mood, more or less an anxious one. By lunch time he was practically bouncing around in his seat, and that was when Stella wasn't able to handle him anymore.

"Alright, spill it, Scarface," Stella said.

"What are you on about, Donut?" he asked stupidly, turning in his seat.

"You've been acting weird all morning. And now it is just getting ridiculous. The suspension is getting a workout from how hard you've been bouncing the car," she explained, earning a laugh from Shannon. "You know what's going on?"

The driver of TR2 bit her lip when she received a warning look from Josh, gathered a small amount of courage and let the words come rolling from her mouth. "Josh is gonna propose to Tash."

Stella began laughing hard in the backseat, and it wasn't simply at the tone her girlfriend had used with, but because of the fact that the womaniser of the team was willing to pop the question and be ready to settle down. "Awwww."

"Yeah, yeah. Shut ya hole," he groaned from the front seat. "Thanks for your support Shan."

"You're welcome," she smirked.

"Is this what you two were talking about this morning?" Stella asked. She leant forward in her seat, only stopping when it wouldn't budge, the nylon belt having reached the end of its length.

"Yep," Shannon admitted. The car turned a corner in the growing city traffic, having sped up to avoid the red light.

Stella saw Josh check his watch. "Alright, time for lunch. Turn right onto LaTrobe, drop chubby off and then right again two blocks up," he suggested. It was as if the two of them had worked out a plan in the five minutes they had had to spare that morning, and Stella had been left out.

An idea jumped into her head. "Hey, it's been pretty quiet this morning. Since we're going for lunch, can you drop me off just past Park Street?"

There was a brief lapse of silence filling the car.

"What's up there?" Shannon asked, watching as she was cut off by an over eager driver in a Mercedes Benz. She contemplated pulling the driver over and writing them up until Josh spoke.

"Major Crimes. Did Kerry ask you to talk to him?" he questioned.

"If I say no, you gonna back off?"

The car became filled with a small amount of tension and hostility. There was a small amount of noise when Josh turned around far enough to look at her comfortably.

Josh simply shrugged. "How long do you need?"

"Half an hour."

"Alright, pull over when you can."

Shannon stayed silent and focused on getting the car to Park Street. She had begun seething at her girlfriend choice. The discussion and evident activities that had occurred as a result of that discussion the night before had given Shannon the impression that the topic had been put to bed for now at least. And now, less that twelve hours later, Stella was heading to Major Crimes to confront her brother about the main cause for the discussion they had had; his warning to Kerry to stay away from one Vladimir Udinov.

"Just give us a call when you're ready to be picked up," Josh muttered.

When Stella got out of the car, stuffing her badge and phone into her pockets, she had to put her steely expression in place at the sight of Shannon unable to meet her gaze. They were back to Shannon being angry at Stella. When it came time to go home for the night, there was no doubt in the brunette's mind that it was going to a frosty event. She watched as TR2 drove away, turning another corner and disappearing from view. She sighed and wondered when her life had gotten so complicated.

Park Street was a reasonably long alley, between LaTrobe Street and Little Lonsdale. On one side was a General Duties Police Station and on the other was a tall building, ten or twelve stories high that housed not only one of the few Major Crimes departments within the city, but an Ethical Standards Department as well. Talk about irony for Frank, being a supposedly dirty cop right under Ethical Standards nose, literally.

Stella had had to leave her vest in the car, along with her weapon, so there was no way she could kill her brother if she really felt the need too. Frank's office was on the fourth floor, the top level of the Major Crimes department. The rest of the building belonged to ESD and required a specific key card to enter the only elevator that went higher than the fourth floor. Computers and phone were run on separate lines and systems, and codes were required for anything within the ESD department.

The security guard at the front desk let her up without a fuss once she showed her badge and stated her intentions, and a few minutes later she was standing in a bullpen full of Detectives who thought they were God's gift the Victorian Police force, and that their ways and ideas trumped anyone else's. So what did it say that Stella was related to one of them?

This was the first time she had actually been in this set of offices, so she actually had no idea where her brother's office was. It took her a few minutes, but she eventually found him in a small room down the far end in the corner office, door closed. The only way she knew it was his office was due to the window panel allowing her to see in. Frank looked worse than ever, with heavier bags under his eyes and what looked like a new permanent sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

With her closed fists mere inches from connecting with her brother's office door when a voice called out for her. "Can I help you...Senior Constable?" he asked. This man was younger looking than the rest of the detectives, with a clean cut mop of dark hair and piercing grey eyes. It looked like his suit was expensive and tailored. His eyes gave her a longing once over.

Stella simply hoped that he wasn't going to start flirting with her. "No, I'm good," she replied, picking her arm up again to attempt to knock on Frank's door again.

"Are you sure that there's nothing I can do for you?" he asked once again, sitting on the corner of his desk with a smile.

"No, I'm just here to talk to Frank." That was when he noticed her name tag, the surname matching the one on the name plate attached to the door.

"He's unavailable at the moment, but I however am free."

"What are you, his secretary?" Stella snapped. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Detective David McKay."

"There are several things I'm going to point out right now, okay?" Stella smiled.

"Sure," he agreed without hesitation.

"First thing, I know you're a detective. You're too young to be an Inspector, and you're not in uniform. Second, I can see that he isn't unavailable through this lovely window panel in the door," she deadpanned. A few other detectives had begun listening to their conversation, snickering as he was shut down. "Third, do not even try and distract me by using your job title as a pathetic attempt at flirting with me, although that does explain why most of the guys in this unit are single; they all think the sun shines out of their arse."

"Ouch," he whispered.

"I can go on if you would like," Stella offered, crossing her arms. "Now, if you're finished wasting my time, I'm going to go and speak to my brother."

"He's too busy," McKay said. Stella turned back to face the man, unable to believe that her brother hadn't heard a single part of their conversation. "I guess I wasn't finished."

"I hate to break it to you, but he's sitting on his arse doing what looks like, oh, absolute nothing."

"I'm sorry Senior Constable, but asked not to be disturbed." Another detective had come out of nowhere, even though the room was full of them. "For anything."

"Well that's all that needed to be said," she commented with a pointed look at McKay, who had stood at the arrival of this other investigator. "Could you please let him know that his sister stopped by, and that I would like to talk to him as soon as possible?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." She cast one last glance towards Frank, who was staring back at her, his eyes full of fear. Stella turned on her heel and headed back to the elevator, shaking her head and fully aware of the majority of the room watching her leave.

By the time she got down into the street, her increasing temper had cooled enough for her frustration to grow. She had only tried to contact her brother all of three times in the last six hours, including a visit to his office and two phone calls, and so far she had been unsuccessful. There was a sinking feeling that he was deliberately avoiding her, like a child who knew they had done something wrong, and was simply waiting for his parents to find out to punish him.

She pulled her phone out and scrolled through her contacts until she reached Shannon's name, quickly connecting the call.

Shannon was standing at the counter of a jewellery store next to Josh, both of them still full decked out in their vests and equipment, as the clerk assisting them was giving a knowing and polite smile. Earlier, when she and Josh were in the kitchen, Josh had asked Shannon to try on one of Tash's rings to test the size and how it would look. He had bashfully asked her to help him pick a ring, saying the he needed a woman's intuition about the choosing of an engagement ring, while he only needed his wallet.

When her phone started buzzing from one of her vest pocket's, she removed the simple diamond ring from her finger, said "that one," to Josh and headed towards the front door to answer the call. There was an unidentifiable emotion that ripped through her when she saw Stella's name lighting up the screen on her phone.

"You finished already?" Shannon snapped gently. Too loud and Josh would hear her half of the conversation and become curious, most likely ragging on her about it for the rest of the day.

"Don't be like that," Stella replied.

"I thought that you didn't want to talk about it anymore. You promised, that you would try to forget about."

"I know. I don't want-,"

"Then why are you going to see him? The day after he instructs us to stay away, and the day after you decided that you didn't want to be a part of it," Shannon said, "It is a complete contradiction, Stella."

"I know," the brunette replied sharply, earning a few looks from passersby as she headed in the direction she had seen TR2 go in. She lowered her voice. "I know, alright. But he's not answering any of my calls. He is refusing to see anybody."

"Stel," Shannon sighed.

"I never thought I'd say this about Frank, but I'm starting to get worried about him. He didn't look good. I just want to talk to him."

"The last time you talked to him, he wouldn't tell you anything and he had just been beaten up by the guy he is trying to protect. Just let him cool off for a while." There was a lengthy pause across the line and Stella could hear Josh call out to Shannon, asking which ring she thought was the better choice. With her distraction dealt with, she chose the one in his right hand, Shannon turned back to her conversation with her girlfriend. "Stella."

"I just want to try one more time. He can avoid me at work, but not at home."

"So now you want bring this problem into his home?"

"This problem, is probably how he paid for that place. It's already there. Shannon."

"I'm not getting involved. You convinced me not to, and here you are, wanting to do exactly what you warned me not to do."

"One more try. And then if I get nothing from it, I'll drop it. I swear," Stella begged.

"I'm not going to be able to stop you, am I?" she begged.

"Probably not, but it would be nice for me if I...I don't know...had your blessing or something. Just for this one last try."

She heard her girlfriend sigh into the phone. "I'm not happy with it, but I'm not gonna stand in your way."

Stella could hear the disappointment in her girlfriend's tone and had no doubt that she would be sleeping alone for a few nights, either on the couch or at her own apartment. Sensing that the topic of conversation was ready to change, Stella moved on. "How long are you guys gonna be?"

"Right now Josh is putting down a deposit on the ring he propose with. We're at the jewellers on Queen street, just past Lonsdale. I'm pretty sure the clerk thinks he and I are the ones getting hitched."

She let out a hearty laugh, effectively lifting the tension between the two of them. "You and Josh? There was a time when I would have been able to see that."

"I sense a 'but' there," Shannon said, the grin adorning her face was evident in her tone.

In Stella's mind, she could see Shannon leaning against the pillar outlining the corner of the store, arms folded with a smile. "But I can definitely see you and me getting married."

It took the choking cough from Shannon to realise that she had, in a sense, just popped the question to her girlfriend. In her 'oh shit' frame of mind, Stella nearly tripped over the curb, as she crossed the road.

"Uhhh, I'm a few minutes away. See you soon." She hung up the phone and stuffed it in her pocket. Stella's hands rubbed over her face roughly, unable to believe that she had practically asked Shannon to marry her...over the phone. "Fuck me sideways," she muttered to herself, finally entering the jewellery store, to see Josh lay down a thick wad of fifty dollar notes onto the counter top.

Stella shoved her hands into her pockets to stop herself from fidgeting, and kept her eyes on the transaction between Josh and the clerk. As they waited for their team leader to finish, Stella could feel Shannon's eyes watching her with amusement and a deep curiosity. When she was convinced that she was going to have to initiate the first move, Shannon deliberately made eye contact with her girlfriend when Josh told them to wait out in the car while the ring was polished one last time and then placed into its box.

They settled into the car with the slam of their doors and an awkward silence between them, the only sound being of Stella shuffling around in the back seat attempting to get her vest and weapons holster back on.

"Did you mean it?" Shannon asked. She was facing the street, appearing to be watching the traffic passing by, all the while keeping her eyes on Stella in the rear view mirror.

Stella swallowed thickly. "Yes. Maybe one day we could."

"You know we can't legally get married."

"Not yet. And even so there is a such thing domestic partnerships."

Shannon sighed loudly. "Is it just me, or have we not been a date in what feels like months?"

"It feels like longer," the brunette replied. "Okay, how about this? This weekend, we will do whatever you want. Something fun to make it up to you about me being so serious lately."

"You mean, 'distracted'?"

"That too."

"My choice?"

"Anything you want," Stella promised, leaning forward in her seat to look over Shannon's shoulder.

The Senior Sergeant mulled it over for a little while before answering her. "Kitchen sex."

They laughed hard until they saw Josh heading back to the car, tucking the ring into his vest. The car bounced for the umpteenth time during the day when he jumped back into the car, more nervous that when he had been earlier now that he had a three thousand dollar engagement ring on his person.

"What are you two laughing at?" he asked.

They simply kept laughing.

* * *

By the time early evening rolled around, the TR teams had clocked out and Stella had been left at base by Shannon to make her own way wherever it was that she wanted to go. It had been as if the moment they were no longer on duty as tactical officers, Stella was expectedly left out in the cold, or the humid rain from the Melbourne climate. When Shannon explained that she wanted no part in whatever her girlfriend was going to do or who she was going to see, the younger woman had practically heard the multiple underlines being stressed.

Frank's house, or mansion when it was compared to Shannon's double storey unit, was south of the central business district, located in Albert Park. There was a large park across from the property, as well as a street as wide as the TR garage, times two. All of the cars within the street and the driveways were all brand new, or exotic looking automobiles; Lexus, BMW, late model Holden, and Fords. Some had lavish gardens while others had plastic playground and toys and pets for their kids. The Dagostino household stood out from the rest of the street; there was no lavish garden or a yard full of toys, but a neat path and a tall, protective, concrete fence.

As Stella arrived at the house, one that she had only actually ever entered once, there was a vaguely familiar Range Rover parked in the gutter. She was barely at the front gate when two figures appeared from what seemed to be out of nowhere, dropping from the raised garden path with ease and muttered indistinctively to themselves.

"Well, well, well. Stella Dagostino," came from the man leading the two man team back to their vehicle. Up close he looked a lot more different. After Grace had died, she had seen him only a handful of times including the funeral, where he had cried his heart out and glared at Josh the whole way through his somewhat moving eulogy. In the days and subsequent weeks that had passed, the broken widower had come through the base on several occasions to pick up Grace's belongings, looking more worse for wear every single time she saw him.

"Connor Barry," she said with a polite sneer, her hands in her pockets once again, seeing as she spotted a reoccurring annoyance in her life a few feet behind him. "I see they let you out."

Vladimir Udinov muttered something in his native tongue, before being waved off by Connor. "Vladimir, go wait in the car."

"What are you doing here? With him?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"My colleague and I were just paying our good friend, your brother, a visit. His wonderful wife invited us over for dinner."

"You must be insanely deluded," she started, ready to chuckle her guts up, "if you think Melissa is wonderful."

"Isn't Annabeth a treat?"

"Yeah, you're deluded."

"I saw you the other day, arresting my friend here," he said, his amusement at her comment gone and replaced with a steely resolve.

"I saw you too, standing there in your cheap imitation leather jacket by the Range Rover that seems way too expensive for you to be able to afford."

"My income sources are none of your business. I can see what you're doing, Stella."

"Oh yeah, and what is that Connor?" she asked. He had become just a little too close into her personal space.

"You know that something is going on with your brother. It would be my humble suggestion, that you stay out of things that are none of your concern," he replied. His tone of voice seemed threatening, but she stood her ground. Even with a finger in her face. "You stay out of it, for your own good."

"You suddenly care about my safety? I haven't seen you in years and all of a sudden you're threatening a police officer. I could arrest you for that alone," she explained.

"Oh, that wasn't a threat. It was," he drifted off.

"A humble suggestion?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "Stay out of it, Stella, if you know what's good for you. I'll see you around." With that, he let himself into the front passenger seat of the entire black vehicle, instructing the driver, who must have been sitting in the car the entire time, to start the engine and get the hell out of the street. As the car came to a halt from its reversing course, Connor's window slid down quietly. As they drove off, he waved condescendingly at her.

"Fucking hell," she groaned to herself. With the outside air beginning to cool, and the wind beginning to pick up, Stella opened up the gate and grudgingly knocked on the door, cringing when she heard Melissa's voice calling out through the heavy wood. "Hey, there. Frank home?"

"What do you want?" Melissa  
asked.

"Still pissy about the whole shaving cream on the car thing?" Stella asked, her body bending back with her fearful demeanour. Melissa could be scary when she wanted to be. "I'll take that as a yes. Since I'm not here to pull another prank, can you invite me in so I can talk to my brother please?"

"What makes you think he is home?"

"One, his car is here. Two, I just ran into your guests outside, and they said he was home. Well, Connor said he was home. I couldn't understand the other one."

Melissa glared at her sister-in-law, before opening the door far enough to let her in. But just barely. The stood together awkwardly in the open foyer, Annabeth walking past on her way up to her room and giving her aunt a greasy expression as she went.

"He is in his office down the hall." Stella made for the hallway beside the large staircase. "Do not touch anything and do not even think of pulling one of your infamous pranks, Stella!"

"Yes, mother," she called back, mockingly, before pushing her way into the office without so much as a knock. "Hey, there big brother."

"What are you doing here, Stella?" he asked quietly, refusing to look up from his point of gaze on his desk.

"Oh, you know. I just wanted to ask you some questions," she replied, dropping down into the chair across the desk from him.

"Stay out of it."

Her elbow settled on the armrest as she tucked her body under her arm. "You know, Connor Barry and your best mate Udinov said the exact same thing to me outside five minutes ago."

This got his attention and his head snapped up from its resting place in his hands. "I told you to stay out of it!"

"Well, I was going to. Until you warned my boss to stay away from him. Now I've seen his score sheet, and for the life of me, I can't come up with one reasonable explanation as to why he keeps getting away with all of these assault charges. The one reason I can come up with however, has no logic whatsoever. You've been getting him off the hook haven't you?"

He didn't answer her.

"You know, your silence is only going to lead me to believe that 'yes you have', unless you tell me otherwise." Again, Frank Dagostino stayed quiet. "He beat the shit out of you, and you're protecting him. What is going on?"

Frank gave in, with a reluctant sigh. "It was a simple deal. I get my employers contractors, personal guards and such off the hook if they ever ran into any legal trouble."

"In exchange for?"

"What do you think?" he replied, waving his hands around at the belongings adorning the room; the two thousand dollar stained oak desk; the several formerly owned small gallery paintings; the vast number of books littering the shelfs along the walls; the car in the driveway; and the size and location of his house.

"Ah." It was his increased income. There was no denying that her second brother was doing the dirty on the Victorian Police's front door step. There was something that stood out in Stella's mind. "If it was supposed to be simple, why are you getting beaten up?"

"Things have been getting more complicated as of recently. It had been asked of me, some things that I can't deliver on. If I don't find a way, he's going to go after Annabeth," he explained, fear in his eyes and his voice for his daughter.

"Who?" she pushed.

"Just stop, Stella. Just stop. Stop asking questions, stop thinking about it, stop looking into it. I'm telling you this for your benefit."

"Yet, you did it for yours," she growled. With all playfulness gone from their conversation, Stella leant forward in her seat so far that her chin was almost resting on the edge of her brothers desk. "Who?"

"Just leave it alone, Stella." She huffed and shook her head. "Leave. Now."

"Fine. You know that it's gonna blow up in your face right?" Stella spat, as she turned around halfway on her trip to the office door.

"Not if I can help it," he replied, with very little conviction in his voice. It was still laced with fear.

"At this point, I don't think that you can."

Stella yanked open the heavy wooden door, only to find Melissa straightening up as if she had been listening through the door. The younger sibling turned to glance at her brother before brushing past his wife to leave the house, only to have her call out by the time Stella reached the front door.

"What have you pulled him in to?" she snapped, following the Senior Constable towards the foyer. "How dare you come into my house and accuse your brother of unspeakable things!"

"And how dare you eavesdrop on a private conversation," Stella replied over her shoulder with a smartarse tone, throwing herself into the cool, late night weather.

"In my own house!"

Stella ignored her sister-in-law with a practiced ease, and headed back the way she originally come. She could still hear the woman yelling at her from the front gate, as she turned the corner into the main street. She had managed to cover roughly a hundred yards down the road, her ears still ringing with the shrill sound of Melissa's screeches, when an unmarked car squealed to a halt in a side driveway, blocking her off. At first, the erratic driving of the car made it seem like whoever was behind the steering wheel was drunk.

Two men emerged from the vehicle, both dressed in cheap brown and grey suits. Both with strikingly familiar Glocks pointed in her direction. Stella's hands flew up in surrender, but that didn't stop them from forcibly turning her around and ramming her into the side of someone's backyard fence, taking the air from her lungs.

"What's going on? Who are you?" she wheezed, feeling the unmistakable steel of cuffs closing around her wrists and trapping them behind her back.

"Detective Hightmeyer, Detective Jamieson. Ethical Standards. You're coming with us," explained Heightmeyer. He was the one in the Grey suit, and was an aging man with thin hair the same colour as his suit.

"What is this about?" Stella asked, as she was guided into the backseat of the car with several empty chip packets and crunched up coke cans. It looked like they had been on a stakeout. They didn't answer her until everyone was back in the car, and they were well on their way down the street. "What is going on?"

Jamieson turned in his seat. It was obvious to Stella that he was the rookie in their pairing. "You're under arrest."

"What for?" she demanded. Stella gulped soundly from her seat in the back. This could be bad. If ESD was hanging around Frank's house, there was a good bet that he was definitely under investigation.

"We'll talk about that when we get back to headquarters."

Stella groaned from the seat, wincing at the pain from the cuffs as they cut into her thin wrists. She was never going to live this down, not with Kerry, not with Lawson or Josh, and definitely not with Shannon. She was going to kill Frank, if his second and illegal employer or the Ethical Standards Division didn't get to him first.

* * *

And?


	23. The Ethical Standards Department

**My God I am on a roll. No sex in this one unfortunately, but I promise that it will be done in the kitchen before we go back to the prologue. Exactly 8k for this chapter, at least in word, that's what it was. This chapter basically explains what happened at ESD with Stella, and begins to tie everyone in with everyone and everything, and you can probably get the idea of where this is gonna go from here if you've followed along closely haha. There is a lovely little moment between Stella and Josh, and then a bigger one with out favourite girls. Also keep in mind that this was set at the beginning of Season 3, kind of, so Christmas is actually 2010 not 2011. I've gone back in time!**

**I realised that I haven't replied to comments my little blah at the beginning of each chapter for a while so here goes.**

**In A Rush - I think we've covered this already, and I think I'm still trying to convince you not to kill me for what I'm going to do, even though you dont know.**

**LadyBelle84 - Kerry to the rescue.**

**Happy Hereford - correction, Stella is screwed, and not by Shannon. Not in this chapter at least.**

**keelzz64 - anything is epic when you are drunk lol**

**Love The Rush - Updated, happy?**

**K - it is getting difficult that I had to write out my point on a piece of paper to sort through all of my thoughts.**

**There you go. Enjoy, there is no need to panic...yet.**

* * *

Inspector Kerry Vincent stalked up the main hallway of the TR base, heading towards her office and passing the team getting ready for the beginning of their shift as she went. Glancing in and offering a bleak smile laced with her usual early morning bad temper at the members of the tactically trained unit, Kerry counted four off the top of her head while she moved. She continued up to the tech room, no doubt to yell at Leon for some reason, and found Lawson checking the board outlining each teams orders for the day. He made five, but there was still one officer missing.

"Did you lose that stuff from yesterday that I told you to lose?" She demanded, looking at Leon for barely a second and doing a quick inspection of the board.

"Good morning to you too, Kerry," said Leon, turning his seat around, having just finished cleaning his desk top. He added, "and yes I did. It's in the bottom drawer of your desk with all of those other ones you told me to lose."

She didn't look up after she reached her desk, double checking her workload for the day, but Kerry could still feel the man-child looking at her. "What do you want, Leon?"

"Nothing."

She scoffed, finally looking up to the intelligence officer. Lawson was watching them from the other side of the clear board, his view slightly obstructed from all of the writing scribbled on in a rainbow of colours. "You always want something, Leon," she commented, as the rest of the squad filed in for their usual morning briefing, a few of them munching on some breakfast and the others sculling the terrible coffee from the kitchen.

"Honestly," Leon replied. He reached over the top of his chair and lifted a small pile of messages intended for his boss. "But I do have to say that you are insanely popular at this time of the morning."

Kerry took the slips from Leon and hurried through them. "This is just the usual stuff."

"Well, there was really no need to write it down every time he called. Same guy, same message. He never really told me anything, just that he wanted to talk to you. He called a few times last night, but you had already left and you weren't answering your mobile-," he went on without a breath. Leon was about to start on that this mystery caller had rung seven times this morning, and was growing rather impatient. He would have kept going if Kerry hasn't interrupted him.

"Who, Leon?"

"Jamieson, ESD."

There seemed to be a collective gasp from the team as their usual Glock weapons had been cleared and then handed out to put into their holsters; the armoury was just outside the main offices. "What's he calling about?"

"Apparently they arrested Stella last night. They need you down there before they can question her," he explained, lowering his head as if he had just given away a secret that could get him into trouble.

"Why didn't you call me last night?" she ordered. Her eyes met Shannon's with a heated, questioning glare. The Senior Sergeant looked away with a slight sensation of fear ripping through her.

"What did they arrest her for?" Michael demanded. Christian watched on silently with worry.

"Well, I tried, but you weren't answering. I didn't bother this morning, because by the time he called the first time, you were going to be here within the hour anyways."

"This Jamieson called seven times in under an hour?" Lawson asked. "He sounds desperate."

"He arrested Stella," Kerry snapped. "What a great way to start my day. Alright, all of you get out of here and I'll go and deal with this. Go on!"

The team filtered out slowly, Josh and Lawson taking the lead and Shannon bringing up the rear. All the way down the hallway and even into the garage, Michael and Christian could be heard discussing the possible reasons ESD could have had to have arrested Stella, Leon trailing behind them throwing in a few loose comments, under the guise of getting another coffee from the kitchen. Before the Senior Sergeant could pass through the doorway, Kerry's arm jumped out and blocked her way.

"Do you know anything about this?" Kerry asked.

Shannon tried to maintain a stoic expression but their topic of conversation was her girlfriend; the one who had just been arrested by the cops of all cops. Her bottom lip quivered. "No."

"That's bullshit, Shannon. Don't play coy with me."

"I didn't see her last night. I went home alone last night," she whispered. The few base officers straggling around at the news that one of their own had been hauled off. "I swear."

"That's not what I asked. Did you know anything about this?"

"About my _girlfriend_ getting arrest by ESD? No."

"She say anything to you?" Kerry asked, her arm finally dropping from the doorway. Shannon couldn't keep eye contact anymore, looking down at her hands guiltily. "Shannon."

"Alright, she might had said something about going to see Frank," she admitted. "That's why I left her here at base last night. I didn't want any part of it."

She knew that it was going to come out eventually, the reason behind the Detectives warning to maintain a distance between the TR members and one Vladimir Udinov, but until then Shannon was determined to keep her mouth shut. There was no reason for her to get involved in whatever was going on, no matter how large her curiosity towards the situation had grown. Sure, Stella had been arrested but there was no guarantee that it had anything to do with Frank's illicit activities. However that was the only thing Shannon could attribute the arrest to. The two women spent nearly all day, every day, with the exception of being in separate TR vehicles, with each other. If it was regarding their relationship, surely Shannon would have been pulled in for questioning as well.

"Is that it?"

"Yes," she lied, finally looking up from the spot on the floor that had held her gaze as she rushed through her thoughts.

"Alright. Hurry up and get out on the road. If I find out you're lying to me about any of this," the Inspector trailed off.

Shannon simply nodded and hurried off towards TR1, where she would be in the car with Michael and Lawson for the day; there was no way she would hear the end of this for the entire shift. There was no way she could send a text message to her girlfriend; there was no way of her knowing if the Ethical Standards Detectives were going through her phone or not. And if they were, there was a good chance they would see all of the ones marked with 'I love you's' or 'Are you staying the night again?' under Shannon's name. Out of the hundred or so messages in either woman's inbox, about ninety percent was from the other. By the time she jumped into the car, Michael was already ranting as he backed out of the garage, and she could see Kerry stalking back to her car.

With city traffic picking up in the early morning sunshine, it took Kerry what should have been a ten minute drive, a lot closer to half an hour to make her way over to the Ethical Standards headquarters to pick up Stella. There was her usual road rage, she hadn't had her coffee yet, when there was a road block due to some construction and she had to go four blocks and an extra bridge out of her way. Kerry was gonna kill Stella for this.

She huffed her way up to the eighth floor with the required escort, and was dropped off at the interview room, being left with who she figured was the detective whose name she couldn't quite remember but she knew started with a 'T'. At least, that's what she thought. Kerry snuck a look through the floor-to-ceiling window, and saw Stella with her head buried in her arms on the desk, looking as if she hadn't slept all night. She probably hadn't.

"Detective Jamieson," the man introduced himself, with his hand out ready to shake.

'So that's his name.' She ignored him while keeping an eye on Stella, who had just noticed her and seemed to be a lot more alert. "You already know who I am, now why have you arrested one of my Senior Constables?"

"It's an ESD matter," he replied smugly.

"If that's so, why was I called down before you can question her?" Kerry replied. 'Why are detectives such shits?'

His face dropped slightly. "It's procedure. We have to notify superior officers."

"Well if you're going to notify me that you've arrested her, the least you can do is tell me why. You understand?" He nodded. Kerry was thankful for her ability to be able to strike fear into the heart of whoever she was attempting to intimidate. "Now what I am going to do is, go into that interview and have a quick _private_ talk to my officer. And you are going to explain to your boss, or investigation leader, that I want details. Basics, or else I'm going to take her out of here without you questioning her. Why are you still here?"

Detective Jamieson, looked on momentarily before scurrying off to find Heightmeyer, his partner in crime so to speak and the lead detective on Frank's case. Kerry watched him and then pushed into the interview room. Stella didn't bother looking up from her joined hands, but she did visibly flinch when the door was slammed shut.

"What happened?"

"I went to talk to Frank, had a couple of conversations, left, got picked up," Stella explained simply, still refusing to lift her gaze. Although her did bite her lip.

"A couple of conversations? With who? And why would you go and see him after what he said?" Kerry asked, her tone full of disappointment to Stella.

"_Because_ of what he said. You heard what Leon said, there is no open investigation on Udinov, even with his list of priors."

"You're gonna have to do better than that."

Stella sighed and huffed and was sure she was going to regret her decision. "There's nothing, I swear. I went to ask Frank why he wanted us to stay away."

"That's the story you're going to run with, huh?" Kerry knew Stella was lying, and was going to push it as far as she could.

"Yeah."

"You said a couple of conversations. Who else did you talk to?"

"It seems that..."

"Spit it out, now!"

"It seems that Connor Barry is best friends with my brother."

"Connor Barry? Grace?" Kerry asked. She found herself dropping into the seat across from Stella. The last time she had seen or heard about Grace or Connor was when she had mentioned the fallen officer to Lawson at the time of Shannon's hiring. It had been a simple comment in passing, asking about when they were going to consider replacing Josh's lost love. "What did you talk about?"

"The weather," she deadpanned.

There was a sharp wrap on the door, pulling the two women out of their staring conversation, and Kerry left the room shaking her head at the young officer. The door was ripped open with a ferocity that told Stella that Kerry was pissed beyond belief. "Yes?"

"Detective Heightmeyer. I'm the one in charge of this investigation."

"Are you going to explain what this investigation is?" Kerry replied, her tone just as sharp as the knock that had ended her personal and unsuccessful interrogation of Stella. It wasn't hard to see that the older man was slightly intimidated. His dark grey eyebrows were close to his receding hair line at the request, and his thick hands are joined over his firm stomach with what looked like the file containing the basic details.

"Follow me," he instructed, turning on his heel and heading back to his office.

Kerry went to follow him, but doubled back to get a look at Jamieson. "Don't even think about talking to her until I get back!" He nodded in agreement, shut the door and continued to stand guard reluctantly.

She entered his overly cluttered office; stacks of files on his desk; an overflowing rubbish bin; the pictures and commendations sitting upon the walls at off angles. The door was shut quietly behind Kerry, and Heightmeyer took his seat behind his desk, groaning softly under the stress of the pressures his job had created. "Have a seat."

"I prefer to stand," Kerry answered, leaning against the back of the one chair for visitors. "So what's going on?"

"For the past year and a half, we have been investigating one Detective Frank Dagostino," he sighed.

"For what?"

"He's under suspicion of being corrupt. An illegal tender has taken place several times for services rendered," came from the lead investigator.

"From who?" Kerry asked, only to be met with a nonchalant shrug. "Don't bullshit me. I can see it written all over your face: you have a pretty good idea who is paying him."

"You're right."

"Then who is it?" the Inspector demanded.

Heightmeyer gave in. "We think it's Anton Buczek, but the only reason we haven't busted either of them is because we've had some difficulty pinning anything on them."

"And what does Stella have to do with any of this?"

"For eighteen months, we've had our eyes on a Detective that is literally four floors below us right now. And not once have we seen his little sister, show up at his house. Especially later at night. Sure they may have met up for family events, but the two of them haven't met in private like this. It's a bit suss, Inspector."

"So you just arrest her for visiting her brother."

"She was seen by myself and Detective Jamieson, talking to a known associate of Buczek."

Kerry looked at him curiously, as Stella had only told her of the conversation between herself and Connor Barry. Although the previous mention from Stella of the reappearance of the widower came back to begin connecting the dots. "Wait a minute. You think Connor Barry is in game with Anton Buczek?"

"No, I don't think he's in the game. I know he's in the game. I also know through a paternity test, that the two of them are father and son. Mister Barry's birth mother was Buczek's mistress in the early eighties. Nine months later, he pops out and the woman gives him up for adoption to keep him from his father for his own protection. A few years ago, after his adoptive parents died, he went looking for his biological father, knowing from the Barry's will that his birth mother was dead."

"Where are you pulling this from?" Kerry asked, her voice full of sarcasm. "You're telling me that one of my dead officers was married to the biological son of the Russian Mob leader?"

"Yeah," he said, his attitude still casual.

"Let me get this straight. You've figured out that Connor Barry is Anton Buczek's illegitimate child, and that he has been visiting a Major Crime's Detectives home?"

"Yes. We figure that that is how instructions are given and how payment is being made."

"And once, again, how does this come back around to Stella?"

"Look, she doesn't exactly have a clean record. I wouldn't be surprised, if she's involved. Over the last month, phone contact between the two of them has increased, with very short-lived connections, sometimes none existent."

"You think she's involved. You are off your head. I know her, and I know that's she not involved in any of this shit alright. They're related, what do you expect?" Kerry asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you going to talk to Stella about?"

"What she was doing there, what she talked about to her brother and to Mister Barry."

"You really think that after hauling her in here, she is going to cooperate with you willingly compared to her agreeing to come in her on her own and answer your questions?"

"It's a few simple questions, and then she can be released to you."

"Fine, let's get this over with. I'm going to be present there for questioning."

"Fine by me," Heightmeyer agreed easily. "But you stay in the background."

Kerry huffed, taking the lead between the two of them to head back to the room. When they got back out into the hallway, Kerry spotted Jamieson, arms folded as he sat on the edge of the desk opposite the interrogation room, watching the brunette with a leering glare. "You enjoying yourself there?"

He straightened up, having not seen the two leaders returning, and realised that he had just been caught staring. The Inspector peeked her head past the barrier of the door to take in Stella pacing the length of the small room.

"Let's go, Jamieson." Heightmeyer pushed open the door, and the rookie nearly argued as to why Kerry was joining them, but from the look on the investigation leaders face, he kept his mouth shut and took a seat across from Stella's empty one. Kerry was the last one to enter the room, the lock of the olive coloured door clicked quietly behind her, and the mother of one took her place in the far corner of the ten by ten room. There was a small slap as the file was dropped onto the table.

"Stella, sit down," Kerry said, gently. When the brunette didn't comply with her instruction, she strengthened her tone. "Sit. Down."

"You look a little worried there, Senior Constable."

"I get pulled in here by two ESD guys, even though I was prepared to go with you willingly, only to get kept locked up in an interrogation room all bloody night, without any food, or a phone called. You'd think I was under arrest. So can you really blame me? You guys don't pull that shit unless you believe you have a good reason."

"Well then it's a good thing that we believe we have good reason then," Jamieson commented. He was close to copping a slap across the back of the head from his superior.

"Care to share?" she asked.

"Stella, cut the attitude. Heightmeyer is going to ask you a few simple questions," she said with a pointed look at the young man, "and then we can go. Alright. Just answer the questions."

She couldn't help but cross her arms, and push herself back into her seat, like a teenager just waiting to get told off.

"What did you talk to Connor Barry about outside your brother's house?"

"Haven't seen him since after his wife died. A quick little catch up," she replied, with a sarcastic tone. For some reason, she found it rather easy to lie to the Detective's of Ethical Standards. "Asked him how he's been, what he's been up too. That sort of thing."

"It looked rather heated from where we were sitting."

"How would you have known? It was pretty dark by the time I had a talk to Connor."

"Detective Heightmeyer is asking the questions here, Senior Constable," Jamieson instructed.

Stella had to fight herself not to laugh at his comment.

"Fair call," Stella heard the man say. "What were you talking to your brother about?"

"It's Christmas in a few days. We've never gotten along, but I thought I'd be nice and ask what his daughter would like for a present."

"You say 'his daughter' but not 'your niece'. Why is that?"

"Like I said, we don't get along very well."

"I think you're bullshitting me. You've called him quite a few times in the last month. From practically nothing, to a few times most days of the week. Why is that?" Stella took her time before she answered, although she did need some encouragement. "Senior Constable? If you know something, punishment for you will be minimal at best."

Her memory of her father's birthday pub party ran through her mind. "And how bad for Frank?"

"Depends how deep he is."

Stella sighed, and shook her head in defeat. "So he is in deep shit?"

"Stop deflecting and answer the question," he requested sternly.

"And you think he's doing something with Connor?" Sure, Stella knew all of this, but at the moment she was attempting to suss out just how much the division knew about the situation. She was sure that she wasn't going to get many details out of them.

"Senior Constable?"

"I wanted to ask him out for a coffee, but he was too busy." Stella's whole demeanour changed from a woman possibly in trouble to her usual cocky self.

"You're positive that you don't know anything about your brother's activities? Because your nervousness, your cockiness and your question about Frank being in deep shit, seems to me that you know more than you're letting on."

"I don't know anything," she lied. Stella leaned forward with her elbows on the table, enjoying her new found confidence. "But since you're trying to connect the dots, let me help you out. What gave it away was the fact that ESD is asking questions about my brother, Detective Frank Dagostino, and Connor Barry."

She heard Kerry snort in humour behind her.

"Alright, smart-arse. Take it easy."

"Are we done here? I'm tired and hungry and I have an eight hour shift to finish off. One that I am actually late for thanks to you," she snapped, standing from her seat and snatching her jacket up, which had been hanging over the back.

"Yeah, I got one last question."

"When we were checking your phone records," he started. Stella tried not to show herself paling in fear as she realised what he was going to comment on. She glanced hesitantly at Kerry, who was obviously thinking the same thing. "I noticed that one number comes up quite a bit in the last eight months or so."

"Where's the question in there?"

"Why are there so many text messages and phone calls between you and Senior Sergeant Shannon Henry? Anything we should know?"

Stella laughed. "We spend up to ten maybe twelve hours a day, in two cars with four other guys, not to mention the guy that's always in our ear. Plus, with the job we do, we are so overwhelmed by testosterone." He looked at her blankly. "She's my best mate. I tell her everything. If I didn't have her, I'd go stir crazy with those guys."

"You tell her everything, even at two in the morning?"

"Yep," she answered, throwing her face towards him with a grin playing on her lips, before walking past the two detectives and out the door. Kerry was going to kill her and Shannon for being so obvious with something as causal as a phone call; if there was any direct suspicion, they would no doubt have brought Shannon in as well. Thankfully, they would have needed a signed warrant to access the actual text messages from the phone company, and if Shannon and Stella played it safe for a while, that wouldn't happen.

"You stay away from your brother!" Heightmeyer warned. "I know he's your family, but if you botch this investigation, I will hold you responsible, you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Stella saluted, at the strongly unamused floor of ESD Detectives, most of whom watched her be dragged out by Kerry.

"Not a word until we get to the car," Kerry whispered harshly.

Stella didn't say anything until the two women managed to get out of the building and into the safety of Kerry's police issued unmarked car. Stella felt like the teenager or the young adult that had been picked up by the cops for something, and was now going to get scalded by a parent. It was very similar to the talking to that she got after she was arrested for illegal street racing. They were halfway to base, before either of them said anything to each other; Kerry had bitched out some other driver's on the way.

"What did he say?" Stella asked quietly. May as well face the most dramatic part of the music.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you talked to Heightmeyer before he questioned me. What did he say?" she pressed.

"Your brother is under investigation," Kerry started.

"I kind of gathered that already," the Senior Constable snapped.

"Look, he's under suspicion of taking illegal good, or money from the Russian Mob. Or more specifically, Connor Barry on behalf of Anton Buczek." That definitely got Stella's attention, as she sunk into her seat even further with a groan. Things were starting to look a lot more clearer, while appearing to be rather complex at the same time. "Look, I know you know something Stella. So tell me what it is."

"Udinov," she replied without hesitation.

"What about him?"

"He was there with Connor last night. Like a bodyguard, or some extra muscle to intimidate someone. He beat the crap out of Frank at my father's pub party up in Bendigo when we had the week off."

"He beat your brother up? How badly?"

"Some bruised ribs, and a blood nose. Out in the car park."

"You saw this happen and you didn't say anything to ESD?"

"They knew Udinov was there, and they didn't mention him in their questioning." A silence settled over the two women. "How does Connor play a part in this?"

"Your gonna get a kick out of this: he's Buczek's illegitimate son."

Stella was thankful that she wasn't driving, otherwise she would have lost control of the car completely. "How is that possible?"

"He was adopted out by his birth mother, who was apparently Buczek's mistress. After his adoptive parents died a year before Grace did, he went looking for his biological father. Guess he found him."

"That is insane," Stella commented. "So let me get this straight. My brother is working on the side for Anton Buczek, and his son Connor Barry is what? Like security?"

"As far as I can tell, he is trying to work his way up into Buczek's Mob business, doing whatever he can to earn his father's trust."

"He didn't seem very warm hearted when I talked to him last night. This Connor is very different to the one we knew very little about a few years ago."

"From what I can tell, I have no doubt that he's different. The whole thing with Josh probably didn't help." Kerry turned the corner, and had another road rage moment. "What did he say to you, Stella?"

"He told me to stay out of it, if I knew what was good for me."

"He threatened a police officer. Surely, that guy is not that stupid having been married to one."

"One that cheated on him. And it was a 'humble suggestion', in his words. He probably thinks that daddy dearest would get him out of any trouble that might come his way. He does what he's told, Frank gets his guys off if they get caught."

"How long have you know about this?" Kerry asked. Her voice dropped to a quieter note, and Stella wasn't sure how comfortable she was this tone from her boss.

"Which part?"

"Any of it," she deadpanned. "I already know that you were previously aware of some of this. I want to know how much, so I know what to have Leon look for."

Stella's head snapped up. "But Heightmeyer just said not to go anywhere near this. Frank's off limits, Udinov, Buczek."

"To you. I don't remember him saying anything directly to me," Kerry explained, yanking on the handbrake. It took a moment for the brunette to realise that they were in the car park at the base. She hurried out of the car to chase after her boss; the older woman had already made it into the garage. "We're not going to go after any of the directly, but we are certainly going to keep an eye on them. If you guys are on the road and you just happen to come across some of them, maybe doing some business," she trailed off, leaving Stella to piece it all together herself.

"When are we doing this?"

"Starting today. I'll fill Josh and Lawson in. Go get ready, TR2 will be back to pick you up soon."

As she dressed herself in her uniform, having taken the world's fastest shower, Stella realised that she was now more involved in the whole thing that she would have liked. She would have settled to have been a bystander, only letting herself get dragged in if it was absolutely necessary, but the Senior Constable was full of defeat. Her hands were on her hips as Stella tried to accept her fate of being involved whether she liked it or not. The loud, shattering bang that echoed through the locker room, was the proof that Stella had pushed her fist into the metal door. The impression of a fist was sitting at shoulder height, and was a reasonable size for someone with her stature.

Unfortunately, Christian had just pulled up and Josh had passed by the locker room at the exact moment she was attempting to put her right hand through a piece of steel that was several millimetres thick as hard as she possibly could.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice full of 'what the hell are you doing?' and worry.

"Fine," she sighed heavily, dropping to the seat in the middle of the room to pull on her boots.

"What did the door do to you?"

"It got in the way," she answered, wincing as she tugged on her shoelaces. "I think Kerry wants to talk to you."

"I'll talk to her in a minute. You can't work if your hand is busted. Let me have a look," he replied, manoeuvring around the wall to stop a foot from the brunette.

Stella didn't look up from her left boot which she had just begun lacing up, wincing several times. "I'm fine." Her knuckles were throbbing roughly, but she was grateful for the distraction.

"Let me have a look. I'm not gonna take you out on the road, unless you do," he ordered.

Stella knotted her boot at last, and bent her head back as far as she could without actually straightening her back to take in her friend's expression of concern. There was no use in arguing when she couldn't be bothered to fight back. Stella stood up and gave her right hand to the man. She flinched and winced immediately after he placed the tiniest bit of pressure on her knuckles. The swelling had already started and there was some faint bruising covering the skin. Shannon was going to kill her. Again.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not, but if you wrap it, I'll forget it happened."

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't the end of your questions? I've had enough of being asked things this morning."

"I'm not ESD, and you're right, this isn't the end of my questions," he replied, grabbing a first aid kit sitting on top of a utility locker. "What's going on?"

"Kerry is going to fill you and Lawson in on the basics," she answered with very little conviction, trying not to show any pain as her injured hand was wrapped in a crepe bandage.

"On the good side, I don't think it's broken. On the bad side, you look like you're in a little trouble."

"Not me directly," she admitted. "But somehow I am involved."

"Everything gonna work out?" he replied.

"Yeah," she smiled, checking over his handy work. "Thanks."

"No worries. Now get your arse in the car you Moll," he smirked, slapping her on the shoulder. She flipped him the bird and headed out to the car park to jump into the backseat of TR2.

Christian looked at her funny when she didn't ask for the keys.

Josh had left her to head out to the car, while he had disappeared up the hallway to get a quick run down from Kerry, only to hear her asking Leon to do a search on someone he didn't think he'd ever hear about again.

"Leon, I need you to do a search on Connor Barry. I want everything you can find."

"Connor?" the tech head replied, swinging his seat around to look at his boss. "Why am I doing a search on him?"

But his question either fell on deaf ears or was simply ignored. "Then lose it with the Udinov stuff, alright? Bank statements, any priors, everything he has been up to in the last three and a half years. I want to know when he's sneezed, and how hard. Do you understand?"

Leon nodded in confusion and fear. Audrey sat in her chair next to him, asking who Connor was quietly. Just as Kerry headed towards her office, Josh managed to intercept her.

"What are you doing looking into Connor?" he asked.

"I'll explain it all at the debriefing after your shift finishes," she dismissed his question.

"Does this have anything to with Stel getting arrested?"

Kerry sighed, and dropped the file she had been skimming to her desk, leant against the surface top and looked to her left at a team leader. "I'll explain it all later. Get back out there. Now!"

He left the room, only to hear her call out to him by the time he passed the bathrooms. "And you leave Stella alone about it all!"

* * *

It was hard to believe that Kerry had taken two hours to pick up Stella so the Senior Constable could finish off the shift that had been started by only five of them team members. There had been no usual text messages between Shannon and Stella; it was obvious to the younger woman that she was in the doghouse again and would have a lot of making up to do. Having gotten little to no sleep during her stay at ESD, every time she dozed off with her head in her arms someone would wake up, there was very little sympathy for TR member that had been arrested.

By the time everyone was back at base, with their paperwork completed, clothes changed and the team ready for a quick debrief, it was already close to six pm and Stella was yawning her head off. Her hand was still wrapped, having had to have been rewrapped after lunch because she had pulled her weapon, and tackled a woman tripping on acid who was threatening to jump onto the train tracks. She had no idea how she had managed to pull it off in her fatigued state.

The group had assembled around Leon's desk, he and his assistant sitting at their seats, the young man rocking back and forth casually until a glare sent from Kerry made him stop.

"Alright, so as you all know, Stella was arrested last night by ESD. Let me make this very clear, she has done nothing wrong. At least illegally, her smart-arse attitude is another problem all together," Kerry said. Her comment managed to take everyone's eyes from Stella's hunched over form. Well, everyone except Shannon's.

"If she's done nothing wrong, what did they want?" Lawson asked.

Stella wasn't quite sure how much Kerry was willing to tell everyone, about her experience with the detectives from the Ethical Standards department.

"It seems that when Stella went to visit her brother last night, she ran into one of Josh's best mates and had a little chat."

He threw a sarcastic and unpleased smile in her direction. "Me and Connor were never friends. Grace was the only thing we had in common."

Stella tried to mask her snorted laugh under a cough, but she proved unsuccessful when she was pushed to the side by Josh.

"Moving on," Shannon said. "Why is ESD looking into a civilian? I mean, yeah, they're cops, but it's not exactly their area of investigation."

"Apparently he's the link between several crooked cops, and Anton Buczek."

The coffee Josh had just taken a sip of almost came spluttering out of his mouth as he choked on the liquid. Stella patted him on the back. "Anton Buczek? Leader of the Russian Mob? Are we talking about the same Connor Barry here?"

Kerry nodded. "He's Buczek's biological and illegitimate son."

There was a small screech of desk chair wheels rolling unnaturally and finally tipping to let the chair itself hit the ground with a thud. "I'm alright!" Leon had fallen out of his chair. "I just didn't see that coming."

"None of us did," Stella said. "Turns out, that in the eighties, Buczek was a bit of a cheating man-whore."

"So they arrested Stella because she talked to him?" Michael asked. "What did they think, that he was going to divulge all of his dirty little secrets?"

"Hell if I know," the brunette commented, ending with a yawn.

"Yeah, yeah, you can go home in a minute," Kerry said. "It's a Friday night, you can go home and do whatever or whoever," she announced with a grimace.

"You are getting more and more crude with age," Josh commented.

"Shut up, Josh. Alright, you all have tomorrow off, but come Sunday, these guys are going to be on our radar and Leon should have some more details for you by then. Go home."

"Beer o'clock!" Christian boomed.

"Don't you have a wife and kids to go home too?"

"Every second week, Annie has a girls night with her friends. The kids are with my mum," he explained to Shannon. "Leon, you are getting the first round!"

"Dammit! Alright, come on kids."

"Nah, I am way too tired. I'll probably just order some food and crash for the night. Oh my God, a sleep in sounds amazing. Yeah, you can definitely count me out now," Stella said, rubbing her eyes and lagging behind all of the boys after the team had filed out into the hallway.

"Housework," her girlfriend replied with a shrug.

"Aww, the two of you are no fun," said Michael, letting Audrey link their hands and pull him along.

The boys, plus Audrey, practically ran out of the garage to their cars so they could all race down to the pub. By the time the two women had actually reached the car park, they had walked the distance in silence, the red tail lights of Josh's four wheel drive gunning it out into the peak hour traffic were the last ones leaving the car park. Shannon's car was left sitting peacefully with several empty spaces either side.

"Am I allowed to come home tonight?" Stella asked, yawning again. She hadn't gotten her usual nap in the car during her shift.

"You were never not allowed to come home, I just simply said I didn't want a part in whatever you were going to do or who you were talk to," she explained quietly. The garage was quite echo-ey.

Stella smiled at her girlfriend, with a level of gratitude. She could help but to let another yawn rip through her.

"You really are tired, aren't you?" Shannon asked.

"I'm absolutely knackered," the brunette commented. "I guess getting arrested by ESD, and being held all night will do that to you. You pissed at me for it?"

"Yes. And no. Yes, because I was never happy with the idea of you putting yourself into this whole problem in the first place. You know I was against you going to see him. After you said that neither of us should get involved." Stella cringed at her girlfriends point of view on everything. "However. You didn't know how he deep he is. You didn't know that they had surveillance on him. You didn't know that Connor was involved or anything."

"That's a fair point."

"With that said," Shannon said, "will you come home with me tonight?"

"Only if spooning is involved," Stella suggested with all seriousness, although her voice was slurring with exhaustion, similar to that as if she had been at the pub with the boys. "If not, the deal is off."

"I think I can manage to meet your demands," Shannon said. "How's your hand feeling?"

"Throbbing, at the moment."

"Have you taken any painkillers today?"

"A couple with lunch," she said, attempting to flex her hand and failing painfully.

"Well you can have some more with dinner. Come on." Shannon dropped one of her arms of her girlfriend's shoulders and directed her towards her car. "You should see a doctor about it. Maybe sure that it's not broken."

"Doctor Joshua doesn't think so. I can get half-arsed medical knowledge and treatment through him without having to pay for it most of the time," Stella commented with the flick of her hip halfway to the car. "You can re-wrap it at home, and can we talk about something more positive?"

"Can you believe that Christmas is exactly one week away?" Shannon replied with an equal flick of her own hip, bumping Stella.

"Yeah, I can believe that. It's been a busy year. But think about this, new years is only a week after Christmas. I say, we party it up. It's been a while since we've gone out with the guys." Shannon laughed as her girlfriend developed a dreamy look on her face at the idea of drinking the night away in fashion. The two of them parted to jump into the car.

They shared their first kiss in over twenty four hours, which had been torturous for both women, in the sanctity of the car. Their lips meet gently, only for it to end just as quickly due to the fact that the moment Stella had buckled her seat belt, she was snoring lightly in the passenger seat, with their hands still linked gently due to the bandage on Stella's hand.

It had been slightly difficult for Shannon to drive in the peak hour traffic with one hand, but she had managed to make it through the twenty-five minute trip without any problems. It was by the time that she actually ran into a problem; she was having trouble waking her girlfriend so she could feed her and tuck her into bed. Shaking her was barely working. Stella would start to stir and then shrink back into the seat, whimpering like a small child. After taking both her own and her girlfriend's bags inside and flicking on the kettle, she returned to her sleeping girlfriend with a devious smirk on her face.

"Stella. Lawson is here, we're just gonna go upstairs and have sex."

"Nooo!" Stella said, waking up instantly, trying to sit up and being roughly restrained by her seat belt. Shannon was bent over giggling. "That is so not funny," she commented. "That is gross."

"You really have to stop falling asleep in the car, babe," Shannon chuckled, letting herself lean over her sleepy girlfriend to press a kiss to Stella's forehead and unbuckled the woman. She intertwined their fingers and dragged Stella into the house, locking the car behind her as she went. "Come on. Dinner and then bed."

"Bed sounds so good right now," Stella yawned, as she tripped over the top step and entered the kitchen behind Shannon.

"Here," Shannon instructed, guiding Stella into the kitchen to make come coffee. "You make yourself useless and get some us some coffee, while I get us some grub."

"Hmm-hmm," came back at her aimlessly.

Shannon set about digging through the freezer and the fridge for something, anything that was remotely edible for the two of them. As she stood there, reheating what was left over stir fry from three days before, Stella finished making their warm drinks and used her girlfriend as a pillow, wrapping her arms around the woman from behind.

"Comfy?"

"Yep," she murmured, into Shannon's shoulder.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. As much as I am enjoying this position, we need some plates."

"You're mean," Stella mumbled, opening a bottom cupboard and pulling out a couple of plates.

Minutes later they were sitting on the couch, coffees sitting on the table their feet were resting on, with both of them trying to finish the whole meal. It was a struggle for Stella, but she managed to chew the final bite before Shannon pulled her into her arms, to settle down for the evening as the last of channel ten's six thirty news lit up the room.

"So, uh, how much of what Kerry said earlier was sugar-coated?" Shannon asked.

"Bits and pieces," Stella replied, just as a late episode of the Simpsons began.

"Such as?"

"The several crooked cops. I'm pretty sure it's just Frank, and the whole thing about my smart arse attitude. That was pretty much the only bits and pieces. Everything else was completely true."

"I see. What didn't she tell us?"

"She knows about Udinov and Frank and Bendigo."

"Ah," Shannon said, tightening her arm around Stella.

The initial teaser had played out and now the theme song was dancing across the screen. Stella yawned one last time, grabbed the throw rug on the back of the couch and threw it over her legs, pushing her body into Shannon's before coming close to dozing off.

"If you fall asleep before you have some more Panadol, I change your bandage and put you to bed, I _will_ call Lawson to come over and have sex."

"You are being mean to me tonight. Is this some kind of revenge?"

"Totally. You still owe me kitchen sex, too."

"Well I still have one good hand. That's all I need to get the job done." Stella nodded and laughed, pushing herself up from the couch as enthusiastically as she could, stacked the dishes and awkwardly placed them into the sink, snapped two Panadol into her mouth and swallowed the rest of her lukewarm coffee in front of Shannon. "Come on woman, I'm tired."

"Alright, alright," Shannon said, flicking off the TV and following her girlfriend up to their bedroom to get ready to sleep in. Stella wondered briefly when it became _their_ bedroom and the thought of asking Shannon to move in together crossed her mind; it would just be a matter of sharing the upkeep and rent wouldn't have to be paid for two places when they were usually at Shannon's most of the time. Maybe she would ask when she wasn't so incoherent from a lack of sleep.

They got ready for bed with casual conversation based off of the question Stella had asked through a mouthful of toothpaste 'when did I come so domesticated?', and spent a few minutes arguing as the brunette proceeded to complain about the tightness of the bandage Shannon was re-wrapping. She was told to suck it up.

Shannon settled herself against the pillows feeling her body melt into the softness of her mattress and doona cover. Stella joined her a moment later, having simply turned out the bedroom lights and closing the blinds, sinking into her girlfriend's body, her injured hand resting under the thin material of Shannon's top.

"I can't remember a time when I was in bed before the sun had even gone down," she commented. It wouldn't be dark for at least another hour, and it was still a gentle warmness, having been a relatively perfect day weather wise.

"I know. Feels like we're taking a nanna nap, instead of sleeping," Stella replied. Her speech slurred at the end of her sentence. "I could sleep for a month."

"Sleep for a month, and you'll miss Christmas and New Years. There goes your piss up."

"I'll wake up then," she mumbled even more incoherently. She dozed off immediately after her next words. "Love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**Like I said in the last hooplah, if you're not quite getting everything, the way it ties in or something, PM me and I'll do what I can. In the mean time, tell me what you thought :)**


	24. The Threat

**On a fucking roll! Sex, family introductions and an earth shattering revelation for Stella. I would write more but I promised In A Rush to have this up before 11.30 so she could read it before bed. But other than that, we have some smart arse comments, some heart break and some plot mixed in there somewhere. I'm surprised I got this updated, I was getting distracted by Skins and Glee and how empty my week is without Rush on on a thursday night. :( But this makes me, and I"m sure you guys feel better.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_It was a stinkingly hot day, and the two of them had trapped themselves inside, the air conditioning on high as the temperature was expected to reach the high thirties. Shannon was standing at the sink in the kitchen, her hands in the soapy warm water as she did the dishes. Stella was standing in the hallway a few feet behind her, bottom lip between her teeth as a rather wicked idea slid into her mind. Sauntering into the kitchen of Shannon's house, Stella's hands braced her girlfriend's hips teasingly, pushing the thin singlet up the expanse of skin, before letting the material slide back down._

_"Come to help me finish the dishes?" Shannon asked, leaning back into the embrace after Stella wrapped her arms around the firm waist tightly._

_"No," she whispered hotly into the shell of Shannon's ear. "It's more like I've come to give you a reprieve."_

_"Stella, I'm facing a kitchen window here," came out forcibly. Shannon had to try to concentrate on her words, when a lone hand began drifting higher with the intention of massaging one of her breasts. She was already beginning to lose her focus at the movement, while nothing even remotely erotic had occurred yet._

_Without a word, Stella moved herself far enough to the side to snap the open blinds shut. "Is that better?"_

_"You're incorrigible."_

_"You love that about me," Stella breathed in between the kisses she was placing along the column of Shannon's neck. The hand that had been hovering over Shannon's stomach before she had had to shut the blinds, was now fully beneath the stretchy cotton, gliding upwards with ease. Her fingers found a stiff nipple quickly, standing erect at the sudden intrusion. "You're not wearing a bra."_

_ "S'to hot," Shannon stuttered, as the hand on her breast had begun pinching lightly, and squeezing softly. She had to brace herself on the kitchen counter, her wet hands making it difficult to gain any traction on the slippery surface. Her body arched way from Stella's, into the hand that was increasing her arousal._

_Shannon had been so focussed on the hand beneath her top and the lips assaulting her neck and shoulder, to take notice of the free hand tugging at the ties of her tracky shorts and travelling southbound, past the elastic of her undies. She gasped when cold fingers reached her already sensitive nub, her body jerking without her permission._

_"You're so wet, baby," Stella murmured confidently. Shannon murmured her agreement, feeling her juicy cum sliding slowly down the inside of her thighs._

_She rotated her fingers, pressing down on irregular intervals, circling the bundle of nerves with a wolfish grin and a high level of patience. Shannon was struggling to keep her legs from giving out from under her, and to not simply beg for a quick release. She rather enjoyed the long winded foreplay, even it was rather frustrating and tiresome._

_"Stel-la," she whimpered. "Puh-lease."_

_The speed of Stella's fingers, as they slid up and down Shannon's length, briefly increased until the tremble in Shannon's legs became almost unbearable and she slowed right down. Time and time again, in the middle of the kitchen, Stella brought her girlfriend as close to a climax as she could, without pushing her completely over the edge._

_"I didn't want to beg, but please, Stella. Please." Shannon had a rather sharp intake of breath, just as one finger traced the outline of her clit and quickly pinched the nub again._

_"What do you want?" Stella asked, turning Shannon around without removing her hand from its place between her legs._

_"Finish me."_

_With her eyes closed in painstaking pleasure, Shannon managed to follow Stella's guidance to sit on the counter and not the sink. Momentarily, the fingers left her clit to pull her shorts down far enough for Stella to push the material of her undies aside and enter her with three fingers suddenly. Stella pumped her hand in and out, in and out, through the slick waves of arousal relentlessly until-_

Stella woke with a small start a little too early for her liking, to her phone voicing it's shrilly ring tone from her bag at the end of the bed. It rang once, twice, three times before cutting out impatiently. Four seconds later, it repeated the pattern. She had a pretty good idea that whoever was dialling her mobile number with the intention of waking her up at...eight-thirty on a Saturday morning, on her day off, would be dead by dinner time. Answering meant removing herself from Shannon's big spoon embrace, it meant she had to wake herself up enough to understand the callers words. Not answering meant that it would continue to ring, and ring, and ring, until she answered it or they gave up. It meant that she was risking wakin-

"Answer the bloody phone!" came a muffled yell from the crook of Stella's neck.

Still exhausted more than was absolutely necessary from her unwilling all night she had pulled the night before, Stella reluctantly pushed herself to sit up and to rummage through some of the rather random contents of her bag in search of the communication device. When she sat up, she squirmed at the wetness between her legs. When Shannon was convinced that her girlfriend had found the noisy item, she pulled the brunette back to the pillows to cuddle.

"Oksar, this had better be good, because I was having a really, really amazingly good dream!" Stella explained, huffing back into the pillows and wrapping an arm around Shannon. There was momentary silence on the other end, until some angry screaming came through so loudly that she had to hold the phone an arms length away. Even Shannon flinched from her place buried between Stella's side and the pillows, the doona up to her chin.

"YOU GOT ARRESTED BY ESD?" came through the receiver, Oskar yelling as loudly as he possibly could. Stella could see him, purple faced with the veins on his neck protruding as a sign of his moody towards his only sister.

"How the hell did you find out?" Stella asked tiredly, not even that bothered by the tone her brother was using with her.

"One of Frank's mates saw you getting hauled in, told him, he called mum and dad, and they told me. Don't change the subject. Why did they arrest you?"

"Okay let me explain."

"Damn right you're going to explain. Dad is pissed beyond belief, more than that time you got arrested for illegal street racing."

Guilt ripped through her at the thought of disappointing her parents. "They didn't arrest me. Haul me in? Yes. Was I charged? No. They just wanted to ask me some questions."

"About what?" he demanded.

"It's complicated, but I promise that I'm not in any trouble, Osk."

"You swear?"

"Yes I swear. Think about it as consulting on an existing ESD case?"

"What would you get out of helping the rats? You practically turned on the boys in blue, Stel."

"Give me a break. If I had turned against the rest of the Victorian Police, I would throw myself off the top of Eureka Tower. Willingly. ESD was asking me some questions on behalf of a second division they are working a case with. I swear to fucking God, I am not in any trouble."

"At least not the legal kind," Shannon mumbled.

"Alright, now that that's cleared up," he trailed off. In true Oskar fashion, any anger and disappointment that may have been in his tone, was gone almost as easily as it had appeared.

"Don't tell me that you have another reason to have called me at eight thirty in the bloody morning, Oskar," she warned him. "This had better be good."

"SHE'S PREGNANT AGAIN! I'm gonna be a baby-daddy again," Oskar said, his voice having become rather high pitched with his excitement, sounding like one of his kids on their birthday's or Christmas morning.

"I hate to break it to you, Osk, but if Sarah is pregnant, you already are a baby-daddy for the third time."

"Oh yeah," he said. "I'm a baby-daddy!"

"Congratulations," Shannon mumbled into Stella's ribs.

"Shan says congrats."

"Thanks Shannon! Am I on speaker or something?"

"No, you idiot, you just talk really loudly on the phone," Stella sighed. She shifted her hips to try and ease some of the uncomfortable tension. Making an effort to be supportive of her brother, Stella continued the conversation, even though she was tired and now horny. "How far along is Sarah?"

"Nearly twenty weeks."

"Four months? Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"Don't play coy with me, little sis. I know that the two of you knew she took a pregnancy test when we were all in Bendigo."

"Okay, fine. Yes we knew. She wanted to surprise you, and make sure that it wasn't a false positive before she told you."

"So do you know what it is?" Stella asked, pressing a kiss to Shannon's temple, as the older woman finally opened her eyes.

"Uhh, a baby," he replied sarcastically, as if she was expecting the baby to come out full grown.

"Ha-ha."

"So far, the doctor is pretty sure that it's a girl. I emailed you a picture of the sonogram."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to print that out and show all of my friends and workmates." Stella shook her head, perfectly able to picture her brother bouncing up and down as if he had springs in his feet, or was hyped up on sugar. She actually had to think which was the more plausible option of the two. "Now that you have spread the joy, can I go back to sleep?"

"Stel, it's quarter to nine. It's gonna be close to thirty today. Don't sleep in; take your girlfriend to the beach."

"Not all of us have to be up at the crack of dawn on our days off, because we don't have kids. We actually get to sleep in on the common occasion. I got no sleep Thursday night, and you interrupted a very good dream."

"Shannon kept you up on Thursday? he asked mischievously.

"No she didn't. The job did."

"But I did interrupt

"Yes, you did."

"Ha! How about you tell me what this amazing dream was about," he demanded. She could hear the smile on his face and the cogs turning in his mind.

"My eldest brother getting eaten by a shark. Congratulations. I love you. Goodbye."

Ending the call, she made an effort to turn the device off, so she couldn't be bothered until she woke up later in the day. With her phone tossed back in the direction of her bag, Stella shuffled down and let Shannon hook one leg over her hips and cuddle in even further. Her arm around Shannon tightened comfortably.

"What was the dream really about?" the older woman asked into Stella's neck.

The brunette couldn't help by smirk. "Kitchen sex."

Shannon laughed, pleased with herself and drifted back off to sleep peacefully.

It was late morning by the time the two of them actually managed to drag themselves from bed, shower and drop onto the couch with some breakfast to catch the last of the Saturday morning cartoons. They had only gotten an extra hour and a half of sleep, but it was refreshing for the brunette, removing just a little bit more of the stress the week had dropped onto her shoulders, and clearing her mind enough for her to make sense of everything Kerry had explained the evening before. It was now a lot more easier for Stella to push it all from her mind to enjoy her time with her girlfriend.

Shannon had disappeared into the kitchen a few minutes before, having finished her toast before Stella could finish her cereal. When the younger woman followed to rinse her bowl off and add it to the pile of dishes to be washed later on, she had a strong sense of déjà vu seeing Shannon standing at the sink. She was about to slip her bowl into the sink so she could turn her girlfriend around to kiss her soundly, when a notice on the fridge caught her eye.

"Uhh, Shan. What's the date today?" she asked, running through her work calendar in her mind. They all had the eighteenth of December off, with the intention of working up until Christmas day the following Saturday.

"The eighteenth, why?"

"Is your mum coming over today?"

"No. That's next week," Shannon said, dismissing the topic of conversation.

"That's not what the note on the fridge says. 'Mum. Eighteenth of the twelfth, eleven am'."

"What?" she asked, moving from the sink to the fridge too double check what she had written. The post-it note did read '18/12/10 11am, in her messy scribble. She sighed loudly and dropped her chin to her chest.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Stella asked, chuckling her way through her question.

"Yeah, I forgot," Shannon agreed, accepting the light kiss to the cheek from Stella.

The brunette moved to the sink, any remnants of her kitchen sex dream gone due to the current dilemma. She checked the time on the microwave. "It's almost eleven now."

"Shit!" Shannon scalded herself. She looked rather worried to Stella.

"Spit it out," Stella requested gently.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you are going to be here when she rocks up, just go along with what I tell her."

"Tell me what you're going to tell her, and I'll let you know if I'm going to stay," Stella countered. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn't a good one. She had an idea formulating in her mind, as the police officer within her took over and began studying Shannon's body language. Her arms were only half crossed over, as she chewed on the thumbnail of one hand. Eyes were downcast, and drifting aimlessly over the floorboards as her mind tossed around theories or ideas. "You haven't told her, have you?"

"What?" came back to her quietly.

"You haven't told your mum about our relationship." Stella's hands came to rest on her hips; if she crossed her arms tightly across her chest, she was come off as angry and defensive. At the moment, she was only angry.

"It's not like that, Stel."

"Not like what?"

"I'm not ashamed of our relationship. I never have been, and I never will be. But you have to understand," Shannon pleaded. Stella didn't argue or interrupt, letting the woman finish her explanation before recanting. "My mother has never been very supportive of the gay community. If I come out and tell her that I am in a relationship with another woman, she won't believe it. She'll say it's a side effect of what happened to me as a kid."

"So make her believe it," Stella said. She pressed a kiss to Shannon's lips. "I don't think I should be here when your mum comes over."

"Stella."

"I know how hard it is to tell a parent about your sexuality, and I know that not everyone's parents are as understanding as mine can be, but you are a grown woman who can make her own decisions, not matter what your mother says. And that includes who you date, and who you fall in love with no matter the gender of that person."

Shannon nodded silently in agreement, like a teenager begrudgingly accepting a punishment when they were fully aware they were making a choice that would affect most of the people, if not everyone, around them.

"I think you need to have a talk with your mum," Stella said, leaving her girlfriend in the kitchen as she ducked upstairs to grab her bag.

She was just about to shuffle down the stairs when there was the familiar ringing of the front door bell. Stella had hoped that when the time came to meet Shannon's family, they would all be present and have a decent understanding about just exactly who their daughter and step-sister was dating. She didn't want o be judged because of her gender but unfortunately it came with the territory of being involved in a same-sex relationship. The woman was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the exchange of pleasantries occurring in the foyer between mother and daughter, and decided to make herself know.

"Ah, who's this?" Shannon's mother asked with a polite smile, Stella's thongs breaking the silence between the three of them as they bounced off the carpeted stairs.

"Stella. Dagostino," she stuttered, with an awkward smile and a hand held out to shake politely. She imagined that this would be what Michael would look like meeting Audrey's parents. "I work with Shannon at TR."

"Hello, Stella. It's nice to meet you. I'm Michelle Henry, Shannon's mum."

"It's nice to meet you too," Stella replied, taking in the woman that was her girlfriends mother. "Well I should get going. Stuff to do. Shan, I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll walk you out," Shannon agreed, following Stella as she left the two storey unit. "Mum, you can make yourself at home."

"Don't take too long, I've got some got some rather interesting gossip about your cousin Charlie!"

Shannon nodded at her mother, feigning interest in the comment about her favourite cousin and followed Stella out of the house, letting the door shut behind her. The awkward silence settled over the two of them, as they stood on the small pathway leading to the front gate. Shannon was going to let the younger woman take her car, but she was brushed off under the guise that the walk home in the perfect temperature day would help to clear her mind.

"When your mum asks what I was doing here, what are you going to say?" Stella asked, hiking her bag up her shoulder.

"I don't know yet. What I do know is that I love you, and I'll figure out what to tell her if and when she asks."

Stella gave a small smile. "I love you, Shannon."

With one last kiss, Stella pulled open the gate and meandered off down the street, trying to get away from the house as far as she possibly could, disappointment weighing on her shoulders. The trip that only took twenty minutes, to get from Shannon's house to Stella's apartment was going to take her a good couple of hours. She wished she wasn't wearing her jeans; it was getting too hot. Shannon watched with sad eyes as her  
girlfriend practically ran away from her. Her attention was pulled from the empty gateway when her mother called out from the kitchen. The gate was shut with a hollow snap of the lock.

"I was about to send out a search party," her mother joked, fiddling around in the kitchen as she waited for the water to boil. "Aren't you a bit old to be having sleepovers?"

Shannon let out a laugh and accepted the coffee her mother handed her over the bench top. "Girl's night. If you don't have one every once in a while, you'll crazy just being surrounded by the boys at work."

"I see." A sip of her coffee and Michelle continued. "So are you seeing anyone as of late?"

There was awkward cough from Shannon, and she found into her coffee. "Didn't you say you heard something about Charlie?"

"Oh yes, I rang them the other day to see how Ross is doing, and I was talking to Ruby, and she let it slip that Charlie has got herself a girlfriend. Can you believe the nerve of your cousin, dating another woman like that?"

"What's so wrong with it? You don't decide who you fall in love with, and if you do, that's not a matter of the heart, Mum, it's weighing the pros and cons and playing it safe. Why does it matter if Charlie is actually going out with someone of the same gender?" Shannon felt just a little offended at her mother's tone, and couldn't help but wonder if her mother would have the same view if she really knew about her daughter's relationship with Stella.

"What's gotten into you? I've never known you to be so defensive about something like this?" Michelle asked, slightly taken aback at her daughter's attitude.

"I just don't see the issue about it is all. If she's happy, what does it really matter?"

"I guess you're right," Michelle conceded, taking another sip of her coffee.

"How are dad and the boys?" Shannon asked, changing the subject successfully. In the fifteen minutes her mother had been at her house, she had managed to avoid admitting being in a same-sex relationship which justified the reason she felt the need to defend her cousin. Shannon sank into the chair she was sitting in and absently took in the latest news her mother was telling her, announcing that she would be back with husband Rob to see Shannon on boxing day to give their daughter a Christmas gift.

Her walk home had taken several hours, but she never slowed down or stopped anywhere on the way home. Stella eventually found herself out on her fourth floor balcony as thoughts of her current issues floated in and out of her mind, chugging back coffee after coffee and increasing the level of sound on her iPod dock every hour. The early afternoon sun was warming her face, no doubt tanning or probably burning her skin, when she spotted a familiar Range Rover sitting in the kerb on the opposite side of the street. From this height she wasn't able to see who was in the passenger seat, but the open sun roof gave her a pretty good view of Connor Barry. He gave a little wave. She flipped him the bird and went inside.

It was too much to comprehend for Stella; she had been arrested by ESD for talking with a known associate of the Russian Mob and visiting her brother, and subsequently her parents and other brother were angry at her for that, and on top of all of that, the love of her life had failed to mention that she hadn't told her family of their relationship. Now she was being followed...no, stalked...by members of the Mob. It was too much for her to be able to stay sober for the rest of the evening, and she called cab to drown her sorrows at O'Malley's.

It was the third beer that George had put on the bar top in front of her since she had dropped herself onto the stool an hour before. Smiling her thanks and dropping a note in front of the man, the frost cold, bitter liquid slid down her throat with a practiced ease. Her phone sat next to the glass, lighting up for the fifth time since dinner. She had had a relatively lousy day for her only day off before Christmas. The walk home had cleared her mind enough for her to be able to see Shannon's slight dilemma of telling her mother about them. Stella had had the same problem when she was sixteen; the only difference was that Stella had been a teenager and Shannon was into her thirties.

As her mobile finished buzzing across the mat covered bar, Stella unlocked the screen and found three missed calls and two text messages from her girlfriend. Ignoring the missed calls and unopened texts, Stella took in the photo background of the copper-haired woman half-asleep and buried in the pale doona, similar coloured pillows covered with by hair splayed out around her. The photo had been taken in the middle of winter, when they had been hiding out in Stella's apartment, unwilling to brave to unbearable chill and horrendous winter winds that had taken over the city for too long.

"Hey," came from somewhere behind her. "Haven't seen you down here in a while."

Turning herself around with a slice of dizziness to see Michael heading towards her, side stepping the other loud and pissed patrons to nod a hello to George and a silent request for a pot.

"Yeah, I've become somewhat domesticated in the last six months," she laughed, thankful that she was able to lock her phone screen before Michael had seen her. The last thing she needed was her old flame, one that she worked with, seeing one of their colleagues in a rather intimate photo as her phone background. "Yeah, I just needed a night out tonight."

"Yeah, I've noticed that lately. You never come out with us anymore. Everything okay?" he asked. Stella shrugged at the question, and swallowed half of her glass in one gulp. "Ah come on, don't give me that."

"You're my best friend Michael. I can talk to you right? About anything?"

"Yeah, of course," he looked at her worriedly. "What's going on?"

"Even about my relationships?"

"Why wouldn't you be able to?"

"I don't know, in case you felt a little weird-ed out after everything that's happened between us in the past."

"It's in the past, Stel," he agreed. "We figured out after two years that we don't work as a couple. We're better as friends, and we're both in separate relationships now. You gonna tell me what's going on, or are you gonna leave me hanging here?"

Stella took another long sip of her pot, and sat in silence for a few minutes as she contemplated just what she was going to say to the boy. "I met my girlfriend's mother this morning."

"And?" he asked, with a confused bounce in his shoulders.

"Her mother thinks that we're just friends," Stella admitted.

"Ouch," Michael agreed. "You're pissed then huh?"

"That's the thing. I'm not. Disappointed is what I am. Ten months and you'd think she would have told her mother about us. Or at least that she's in a relationship, but apparently not."

"Are you okay?" he threw out from behind the last sip of his beer.

"We'll see. Depends what she told her mother after I left. Haven't talked to her all afternoon."

"Are you ignoring her?"

"Nah, I like to see it as letting her think what our relationship is worth to her."

"You said you've been together ten months right?" Stella nodded, taking the froth from the top of her fourth beer. "Well, that long and it's gotta mean something."

"I'd hope so," Stella said sadly.

They sat there at the bar in a comfortable silence, the sound of pool cues breaking the rack loudly in the far corner, and the groups of tradies laughing raucously, slamming their pots down on the table tops.

"You're in love," he commented.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "I never thought I'd see you in love."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, stopping half way to her mouth with her beer.

"You're the party girl, you have flings and short-term relationships, and you never fall in love. You fall in lust," he chuckled.

"That's mean," she pouted.

"That's true and you know it," his finger pointing at her as he tried to hold his glass in the same hand.

"Okay, yeah. Yeah, it's true," she smiled. "You know, I've missed this."

"What?"

"This. Hanging out with you. I have to admit that have been neglecting you a bit lately. So I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you should be," he agreed, going along with the joke.

"I guess I've just been swept up in this whole relationship with her."

"Who is she?"

Stella's head snapped up. "What?" Stella was very aware of the fact that she had never actually told Michael her girlfriend's name. She had simply assumed that he was okay with the fact that he didn't know and that Stella hadn't told him. Stella never considered telling him, or thought it would he would ask. One of the last things she needed was to be labelled a hypocrite; she had used work as one of the reasons to not date the young Senior Constable, yet two years later and she was jumping into bed with her female superior.

"What's her name? What does she look like? Who is she?"

Stella only had to think for a moment of what her answer would be, but saying it took a little longer. "She's everything."

He seemed satisfied with her reply, and took the liberty of ordering two more pots and four shots of vodka, apparently forgetting about the friends he had arrived with.

* * *

"Briefing in ten!"

She flinched as Lawson's locked door was slammed shut, and for a second her fist was overcome by a small bout of pain; she remembered her fist connecting with her locker door and cringed. From her seat on the block, Stella eyed off her boss from beneath the pounding in her head, Shannon seeing the glare she sent at the man. The room eventually cleared out slowly, Stella taking her time getting ready due to her hangover and Shannon doing the same just to talk to her girlfriend.

"You look like shit," came from Shannon, as she zipped up her vest. Being considerate to her girlfriend, her locker door was snapped shut as quietly as she could manage.

"Gee thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel special," she replied sarcastically, before going on to explain her looking a little worse for wear. "Went to the pub last night. Had a bit too much to drink with Michael. Leon was right, I'm out of practice."

"Here." Shannon handed her some panadol. At the sound of her girlfriend's old flame, a surge of jealousy shot through the Senior Sergeant. "Drinking with Michael huh?"

"Don't give me that," Stella said. "Please."

"What?" Shannon asked, her expression a mix of curiosity, suspicion and worry. "I don't need to worry about anything, do I?" She asked in a matter of fact tone.

"Do you?" Stella countered, turning the question back onto Shannon.

"No, I don't. I trust you."

"Good. He's my best mate. We just had a drink and talk. Made me realise something."

"And what's that?"

"That you're kind of...this is so cheesy...you're kind of my everything. And that I kind of had no real reason to go off at you yesterday morning, for not telling her. I get that it's hard to tell your parents something like this. I just thought after ten months, you would have told her," Stella explained. She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for getting pissy yesterday morning."

"It's understandable, Stel. And I'm sorry for not telling her," Shannon apologised. "I know you were probably hoping I was going to tell her, but I didn't." At Stella's attempt at trying not to look too disappointed, she explained. "Mum kind of had a go at my cousin Charlie for dating a woman."

In her hung-over state, it took her a few minutes to comprehend. "Charlie, as in Charlotte?"

"Yep, so I had a little, and I mean little, go at her and decided to keep my mouth shut for a little while longer about us."

"Fair enough," Stella agreed. "I am sorry."

"I know. You're kind of my everything too, y'know?" Shannon replied. "And it is so totally cheesy."

"Stop making fun of me," Stella chuckled. With one last gulp of the stray water bottle she had used to chug back the painkillers, she checked her watch and her eyes almost went wide in a comical way. "If we're late for briefing again, Kerry is going to kill us."

They made it up to the offices with seconds to spare and the powerful glare from Kerry was not quite at one hundred percent so they were as safe as they could be around an explosive boss. The boys were all gathered around Leon and Lawson, the Inspector standing just off to the side as photos of Anton Buczek and his daughter Nadia, Connor Barry and Vladimir Udinov adorned the screens. Lawson began his introductions now that everyone was present.

"Okay, so technically we're not meant to be going after any of these people; Anton Buczek, Russian Mob leader; Nadia Buczek, his daughter; Connor Barry, illegitimate son of Buczek, and as far as we know, employee; and Vladimir Udinov, employee and right hand man to Connor."

"If we're not supposed to be going after them, why are they head news for us this morning?" Christian asked.

"Because of this man," said Kerry, taking over for Lawson and pointing to Connor's picture in the middle screen; Udinov was to the right, and Buczek and his daughter on the left. She jumped into an explanation. "Before Shannon was hired, we had a Senior Constable by the name of Grace Barry. Connor's wife. She died from complications after being within the blast radius of several explosions in an underground parking structure."

Josh crossed his arm and hung his head at the memory of carrying Grace out from the smoke and debris filled car park, only to have her collapse in his arms a matter of minutes later and die after a few days in hospital. The last time he had seen Connor was being told that he had no right being at the funeral, until Stella had shut the grieving man up with 'it's a police funeral, he has every right'. That was, after the two grown men had thrown punches outside Josh's old apartment. Stella offered a soft pat on the arm, and returned her attention to Lawson and Kerry.

"Back in the good old days, Connor was the owner and manager of his own landscaping business. After learning of his true heritage, all of his clients, no matter how many times he serviced their gardens, were passed on to other local landscapers. Any source of income then came from affiliates of Buczek. He and his employees and usual go to guys get paid triple the normal wage for even the basic upkeep and redesigning of any number of properties each affiliate owns. This is Connor's financial cover.

"No, we're not going after them, but because of Connor Barry's connection to this Unit, we will be keeping an eye out for him and his associates until any kind of charges are pressed or the investigation lead by ESD and the Feds is dropped. You don't go after him unless you have a very good reason," Kerry explained and instructed. "Do you understand?"

The entire group was too fearful to stay silent, and agreed with her at once; they were not to go after anyone of the Russian Mob unless there was a plausible and legal reason to do so.

"Alright," Lawson said. "Stella and Michael, with Josh. Shannon and Christian you're with me."

Kerry had ushered them all out into the hallway, throwing keys to Christian and Michael; she had made both Michael and Stella take a breathalyser test to see who was the less drunk and therefore able to drive. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Again?" Shannon asked. "Don't the two of you have another game you can use to decide who takes which quadrant?"

"Heads or tails?" Josh asked.

Shannon simply laughed and pushed past the two team leaders as Josh fished out a stray fifty cent piece from his pocket. His heads beat Lawson's tails.

"We'll take the north-west, you take the, uh, south-east? How does that sound?" Lawson asked.

Josh just laughed, like the two of them had just had an unspoken conversation. It was a pretty common feat for the other members of the team to see the two team leaders talking in whispered tones, or simply watching each other only to have a complete understanding by the time they were finished. "Is that such a good idea?"

"What?"

"Letting me anywhere near someone who could have mob ties," Stella said, ducking into the back seat of TR2, her head hitting against the closed window the moment the door was shut behind her.

"Why not?" Lawson replied.

"Mobs a bit heavy down there. We don't know just how much power Connor has managed to get since he became involved in all of this."

"If he's warned Stella to stay away from him, then maybe her being down there might stir the pot a little bit."

"Or turn everything to shit."

Josh and Lawson hadn't talked as quietly as they thought; Stella had begged Michael to turn the car on so she could get some air and had heard everything that they had said. They thought that the threat was directly at her because she talked to Connor outside of her brother's house. She wondered why they hadn't questioned the fact that they had exchanged a few words, and a humble suggestion, out the front of Frank's house. Did they even know Frank might be involved? Or even suspect. The teams point of view, at least from where Stella was standing, had her at the centre of the entire thing, instead of just off to the side.

The four hours TR2 spent patrolling the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, more specifically around East Malvern, there had been two sightings of the black custom made Range Rover. The first time was from a distance, which was the deciding the factor when Josh tried to pick the number plate. The second time, they both pulled up to a red light side by side, and both men sitting in the passenger seat of each car very quickly becoming involved in a stare down. Udinov was in the backseat and smirked at Stella, dragging his thumb from one ear to the other and pointing at her through the open window of the Range Rover. Despite sitting stationary next to a police car, it didn't stop the driver of Connor's car, speeding away the moment the light turned green.

"Now can we arrest them?" Michael asked, as Stella leant forward to listen and felt overwhelmed with a quick bout of dizziness.

"Nah. They're doing the speed limit; just want to show off," said Stella.

"Yeah, let them go." Josh agreed with her, before looking over his shoulder at her. "Did they see you?"

"I know Udinov did. And no doubt he told Connor." It seemed that neither Josh or Michael had noticed the Russian natives gesture; if they had, she was sure that her boss would have ordered an arrest immediately for openly threatening a police officer. Stella kept it to herself, as they moved on down the three lane road to get some lunch.

"Alright, Stella is pulled a higher number on the breath-o, she's buying lunch today," Josh said, much to Stella and Michael's amusement. She left out a loud groan and fished around at her feet for her water bottle. The boy driving could only chuckle at the fact that he got out of spending money.

"Tight arse," she threw out.

"Who?" Michael asked.

"Both of you."

"Hey I got a good reason," said Josh, "you know I do."

"What's going on?"

"Josh dropped a couple grand for an engagement ring for Tash," Stella giggled. She was sure that only she and Shannon knew about the whole proposing to Tash thing. If he was going to hang shit on her for being hung over at work, she would definitely hang it back on him for whatever reason she could think of in her inebriated state.

"Ha!" Michael said. "You're giving up your balls, mate."

"At least I'm man enough to hand 'em over."

"Oh God, can you two please just pick a place for lunch already? I really don't want to listen to you argue about who is the more masculine."

"Pull up here," Josh said. "At the kebab place."

Stella got out of the car, checking for any oncoming traffic and ducked her head into Michael's open window. "And by the way, we both know that I have bigger balls than both of you!"

Stella bounced away into the nearest take away store, Michael stuck his head out through the window, fully prepared to defend his manhood, until he realised he was in uniform and in public. Josh sat there laughing, "You know she's right, don't you?"

"Yeah, but we don't need to encourage her to think that."

Josh simply kept laughing.

In the store, Stella was tiredly scanning the menu board, trying to decide to get a healthy looking sandwich and some water or something greasy with a bottle of coke. There were quite a few people in front of her, local business owners and workers on their lunch breaks, sparing her a few extra minutes from listening to the boys duke it out over the tiniest thing. They may be best mates, but fuck they argued a lot and Stella's hang over was only making it five times worse.

After a few minutes, Stella finally took notice of who was standing directly behind her, having turned her head to get a quick survey of the place, just in case. Her head snapped around to face the counter, sighing deeply and closing her eyes in an 'ahh fuck' moment. Standing in line directly behind her was one Connor Barry, and he didn't look very interested in the actual menu.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Getting some lunch. Been working real hard all morning, I'm starving," he replied.

"Cruising around in that custom made piece of trash does not count as real work."

"Ouch. Y'know that's my father's car, so I'm sure he won't be happy to hear Vic Police's best trash talking his property."

"What are you? A trust-fund teenage brat? From what I know, your father wouldn't actually care about being insulted by a cop. It happens often enough."

Connor let out a quiet chuckle. "Funny. Very cute. I'm great by the way, thanks for asking. Now that the pleasantries are over, I need a favour."

"Why would I do anything for you?" she asked, becoming one step closer to the counter.

"I'm not exactly stupid, officer."

"That's Senior Constable to you, Mister Barry. Are you here to give me another one more of your humble suggestions? Maybe you can say it just a little louder? I'm not too sure that Josh and Michael heard you out in the car. How did you get past the car without them seeing you? They're parked practically right outside," she said.

"I know the owner. He lets me use the back entrance," Connor whispered. "Like I said, I'm not exactly stupid."

"I beg differ," she scoffed. "What do you want?"

"There is a little bit of heat at your brothers place, so I can't talk to him for a while. I need to give him a message for me."

"Why would I do that?" she asked, finally turning around the face him. Her hand sat over the grip of pistol; she didn't trust Connor as far as she could throw him.

"Because now you have a target on your back as well. You know a little too much."

"I don't know shit," she replied, pushing Connor out of the line to take a more serious part in the conversation. She said it as though it would please him and convince him to leave her alone. There was a very little chance of that actually happening.

"That's what you think, but you know a lot more than you are letting on. I know you that you do. I have my connections so I know that you were questioned the other night, _officer_," he spat out, with an expression of nothing but smugness.

Stella huffed and sighed and inwardly groaned and wondered who the hell his contacts were. She was too far in, involuntarily and this week was just getting worse and worse. "I never wanted anything do to with this, I don't want anything to do with this."

"Just let your brother know that he is in a bit of debt. He has one week to pay it off. Or the shit will hit the fan. My friend Vladimir told me that you've seen his work," Connor smiled. That was when she finally noticed Udinov sitting at one of the back tables in the corner.

"Besides being your messenger bitch, how does any of this form a target on my back?"

"You are his collateral."

The colour drained from Stella's face and somehow dropped into the pit of her stomach. That was why Connor and his goons had been keeping an eye on TR2 all morning. That was why Connor and his goons had been keeping an eye on her apartment the last few days. She knew firsthand how stalkers could turn violent from the slightest aggravation. She also knew from her time as a police officer that having the mob being the one to stalk you, had a ninety-nine percent chance of ending very, very badly.

"If this goes south, and it most likely will, it'll be you that we go after."

It sounded slightly selfish but she couldn't help her curiosity. "Why not his wife and kid? Why me?"

"Because you are the one that knows about any of this, not matter how big or little your knowledge is."

"Anything happens to me, there will be an investigation and everything will be exposed." It was a last ditch effort, but she had to try. She couldn't help but gulp with a growing fear.

He chuckled at her attempts to protect herself. "That's what you think," he whispered, before winking and disappearing out of the front door. Udinov followed a minute later.

"What the hell is taking you so long Stella?" Josh's voice was what pulled her out of the trance she had found herself in, staring at the drinks fridge. "You've been in there for nearly twenty minutes."

"It's a long line, be out in five," she answered dumbly, and moved to the end of the line to finally place an order.

If she told anyone that Connor had directly threatened her, they would be in trouble too. On the spot, after she moved a step forward in the line that she wasn't going to tell anyone. She had to protect them from this, no matter what happened to her. As the line shuffled along, the threat rang in her ears and the worker behind the counter had to ask for her order three times before she actually answered.

She dropped the food into Josh's lap through his open window and spent the rest of her shift in silence. Stella was thankful for the excuse of a hangover, otherwise the team might actually think that something was wrong with the Senior Constable. It wasn't until almost everyone had left for the night, before Stella had even managed to change out of her uniform. Shannon was leaning against her locker with her arms crossed, watching her girlfriend struggle just to tie her shoelaces.

"You okay?" Shannon asked, as Kerry's heels disappeared out into the car park.

"Yeah. It's been an insanely long day and I just really need a distraction tonight," Stella said, standing from her place at the block, having now tied her shoes. "Do you want to help me out with that?"

"I might be able to manage that," Shannon agreed, taking a step forward to link both of their hands. "What did you have in mind?"

Stella brought her body as close as she could to her girlfriends, with a gentle smile. "Hmmm, let me think about that. Kitchen sex sounds pretty good right now."

Shannon let out a hearty laugh and pressed her lips to Stella's deeply, hands coming to cup the brunettes cheeks. "I think I can handle that," she said, breaking their kiss, grabbing Stella's bag and physically dragging her girlfriend off of the base to the car. "Let's go home."

* * *

**Hmmm? Is it making more sense yet?**


	25. The Warehouse

**Okay so the end of this chapter was a royal pain in my arse to write but I got it done. Also had to had a shitload of fluff in there to reach my 8000 word minimum, but I got that done too. Can you tell how this going to end? :) ONLY A WEEK TILL THE DVD RELEASE!**

**So only three reviews for the last chapter? Is my writing getting worse or can I blame Channel Ten for the decrease? For the sake of my ego, I'll go with Channel Ten.**

**HappyHereford - now it all makes a heap more sense, considering how much you already know.**

**In A Rush - Oh! Oh! I just realised that you clicked on the crossover. haha. Don't worry Shannon will come clean to her mother, after I get through the prologue.**

**K - yeah, someone *coughs*In A Rush*coughs* and I were having a conversation and that came up. Figured it could work in the right context haha.**

**And now, I present to you chapter 25 of The High Life.**

* * *

She had forgotten to close the blinds again the night before. The sun's rays were reflecting off the windows of the building across the road, shimmying its way into the far corner of the loft; right where her bed was. In her defence, she had been rather distracted with taking Shannon right then and there in the kitchen, living up to her promise to her girlfriend of weekend kitchen sex. The activity itself had tired her out long enough for the brunette to grab only a few hours sleep on and off while her girlfriend snoozed peacefully next to her. But after that her mind was too alert and awake and unable to be switched off for Stella to actually doze off before her alarm would echo loudly through the apartment, and no doubt give her another headache to last the day.

With less than a minute until her clock was set to go off, Stella turned it off to let Shannon sleep for just a little longer as she slinked into the bathroom to take a shower. Before she could drag herself to into the bathroom, Stella slid her balcony door open and popped her head over the concrete railing to see Connor standing on the footpath next to where his car had been the day before, with a coffee staring up at her apartment. When he noticed her watching him, with her arms crossed trying to keep the early morning chill away, he sent a small wave with the wiggle of his fingers and went back to the newspaper under his arm, walking off down the street confidently.

Stella sniffed, trying to keep the tears at bay. She had to run to the bathroom on her toes, avoiding the coffee table and the foot end of the bed and the pieces of clothing that had been strewn about the night before. As the cold tap was ignored, her skin became red with irritation from the scalding water. It released a small amount of tension from her shoulders that had been weighing her down since lunch the day before. Stella wasn't able to hold herself up for very long as the fear took over everything and her knees buckled, her naked body slid down the tiled wall shaking with sobs. Nothing in her head made any sense, but the one thing she knew was that she was in trouble. And for the first time in as long as she could remember, it wasn't her fault.

Stella's tears mixed with the water as it burned her skin uncomfortably. The water was the only thing holding her down, reminding her that this was all happening and of how scared she really was. Her arms were wrapped tightly at her knees, her lungs were burning from the lack of air she couldn't gulp in. Her cries were as silent as she could manage because if she woke Shannon, then she would have to explain why she was crying in the shower at six thirty in the morning. She would have to tell her girlfriend that Connor had directly threatened her life on behalf of her brothers screwed up debt to Anton Buczek. That was a can of worms she wasn't quite ready to open. There was a knock on the bathroom door, and it creaked open a few inches.

Shannon's voice, full of sleepiness and love, flittered though the layers of steam fogging up the bathroom. "Morning, Stel."

"Morning," she managed to get out roughly, in between her body wracking sobs and hiccups. Her girlfriend's voice had brought her out from her emotional trance, and the water hitting her body was suddenly too hot for her to handle. Stella had to snatch her hand up to balance out the temperature, and turn the cold tap on.

"You've been in there for almost half an hour. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute," Stella threw out, standing up slowly.

"Do you want a coffee?"

"Sure. Thanks," she called back.

She spent the next few minutes with her face under the spray, trying to let the puffiness and redness be washed away by the pressure. Turning the water off, Stella stepped out of the shower block of her bathroom, wrapped the worn fluffy towel around her thin frame and took in her reflection in the fogged up mirror. Now, Stella simply looked exhausted, instead of teary eyes and upset. As she left the bathroom, whatever weight that had been removed was dumped back on; Stella felt forced to put on a fake smile in front of Shannon.

Shannon had her back to Stella, mixing up sugar and coffee in mugs and waiting for the kettle to boil, turning around when the bathroom door was opened on squeaky hinges, to see her girlfriend pad across the loft in nothing but a towel, wearing a smile that was not Stella's usual morning grin. So much for trying to hide anything from the woman. Stella melted into Shannon's open arms with a huff, causing the older woman to chuckle.

"You okay?" Shannon asked, pulling back to run her thumbs across the skin beneath Stella's grey orbs. She could see the bags marring the skin, and the redness in the whites of her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Stella smiled and went on nonchalantly. "Some girl kept me up for most of last night. Wore me out pretty good, too."

Shannon let out a confident laugh, and lifted her hand to scratch at the brunette's hairline at the base of her neck. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. I'm going to be sore for a week at least," she gloated, pretending to stretch out her muscles.

"Ahh. All in a day's work." Shannon crackled her knuckles jokingly, behind Stella's back before pressing a kiss to a damp and bare shoulder. She watched proudly at Stella giggled away wholeheartedly, without what appeared to be a care in the world.

"What?" Stella asked, her chuckles mostly subsiding and noticing at Shannon stared at her.

"Nothing." Shannon shook her head, only to continue admiring Stella's beauty.

"Seriously, what?" the brunette pushed.

"It's just, it feels like I have seen you laugh so easily or smile so big in a long, long time."

"Yeah, I know. It kinda sucks," Stella admitted. "But you know what would cheer me up considerably?"

"What?"

"Kiss me," she demanded. "Preferably before you go and have a shower otherwise we will be late for work."

Shannon complied with the simple request without argument, letting her lips brush against Stella's gently, her tongue stretching out slowly past the edges of her own mouth. Smirking into the kiss, Shannon's hands, left the curve of Stella's neck and pulled gently at the end of the towel with the intention of removing it. Before the knot could be fully undone, Stella managed to twist away from the hands with a cheeky smile, effectively preventing Shannon from leaving her naked in the middle of the kitchen.

"No," she said. "Now that I've gotten my morning kiss, you have to go and have a shower."

"I know that that isn't all of it," Shannon said, remembering the words Stella had once said to her. "I know that you're not telling me everything. But I won't push you to tell me what it is unless..."

"Unless what?" Stella asked.

"Unless I feel I need too. Or I feel I have to. I'm worried about you, Stel," Shannon said, rubbing her thumbs along the bags under Stella's eyes again.

"This bullshit with Frank is more pressure and anxiety and scariness than I want."

"You know you can tell me anything right?" Shannon asked. When she didn't quite get the answer she had been looking for, Shannon felt her heart sink.

"I know. It's one of those things I love about you." Stella nodded, smiled sadly and pressed another kiss to Shannon's lips. "Shower."

"I will in a minute," Shannon agreed, wrapping her arms around Stella as the brunette turned to face the counter and the appliances littering its surface. "I got you a present."

As Stella leant back into Shannon's body, setting about making a piece of toast for breakfast, a thought crossed her mind. "A present? It's not my birthday, Christmas isn't for a few more days, it isn't our anniversary yet. What am I missing?"

"Very funny, babe," Shannon said, laughing at Stella's theatricality. She pulled her gift from the pocket of the tracky pants she had worn to bed. "I wanted you to have this."

It was a long thin silver chain, with a ring hanging loosely. Stella looked at it curiously, lifting both of her hands to take her new piece of jewellery as Shannon's chin came to rest on her shoulder. "This is your celibacy ring."

"Yep. It sounds really cheesy, but it became really important to me before and when we first started dating. After my vow, you were the one that I chose to give myself to you. You gave me your necklace because it means something to you, it's important to you. Well this ring holds that same kind of significance for me. I want you to have it."

"Thank you," Stella said, her voice full of sincerity. Looking over, Stella smiled genuinely at her girlfriend before slipping it over her head to let the cool metal come to rest within the valley of her breasts. "I think I'm rubbing off on you. With the whole cheesiness stuff. And it's a good thing you put it on a necklace, otherwise it might be a bit suss if I rock up to work wearing your ring."

Shannon chuckled nervously and squeezed her arms briefly around Stella's waist. "It looks good on you."

"It's a gift," Stella said, turning around and having to keep a hold of the towel where it bunched across her chest. "I love it, really. Thank you. It means something to you, so I'm proud that you trust me with it."

Stella turned, stroking the side of her girlfriend's face. "I love you," Shannon whispered. "So much."

"I love you too," Stella replied, giving her a quick kiss. "Now go and have a shower, or we will be late."

Shannon checked the clock, yelped out an 'oh shit', and ducked off to the bathroom to have one of the quickest shower she could manage. It wasn't long, mainly because Stella had gone through most of the hot water, crying her eyes out under the spray. Stella managed to finish her toast and get halfway dressed before her girlfriend emerged from the bathroom in a flurry. She was able to slow down long enough to see the smile on Stella's face and take in her girlfriend in a bra and jeans. There was a smack that echoed through the loft as Shannon's hand connected with a back pocket on Stella's jeans, before they noticed the time again and had to rush off.

They jumped into car and sped away, Stella taking notice of Connor again. He was leaning against the outer pillar of a small business complex; hidden partially from the view of Shannon as she focused on getting them through the morning traffic, Stella's eyes following him until they couldn't anymore as they drove past. It was as if he was just walking around the block with the hopes alone that the brunette would catch a glimpse of him and feel a fresh bout of terror. He was right in one aspect for the idea; but she couldn't help but wonder how many times he had circled the outer city block that morning along. That brought Stella a small amount of joy.

"What are you doing?" Shannon asked, quickly glancing at Stella. The brunette was squeezing their hands regularly, looking out the window with curiosity and worry.

"Thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," said Shannon, earning a scoffing laugh from her girlfriend.

"Hey, I can think without anyone getting hurt in the process. It's Lawson's thoughts you have to look out for," Stella explained.

"What is going through your head?"

"You."

"What about me?"

Stella took a few moments in silence. "How much are you paying for rent each month on your place? Fifteen hundred?"

"Something pretty close to that," Shannon said slowly. "Any particular reason you're asking about my finances?"

"Well," the brunette began. It was working its way to becoming an awkward conversation. "I pay just over twelve a month. We spend all of our time together as it is."

"Are you asking me if I would want to move in with you?" Shannon asked, effectively ending her girlfriends babbling mumbles.

"Well, yeah." Stella shrugged.

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Just a few days. It's alright if you don't want too."

Shannon laughed. "Baby? Babbling. As cute as your babbling is, please. Stop. It's not that I don't want to move in with you, but do you really think we are ready?" Shannon asked with some uncertainty, remembering a few times off the top of her head where they had argued over the tiniest thing and spent the night apart.

"Yes," Stella said, her tone strong and confident.

"Why do you think so?" Shannon wasn't harsh or demanding in her answer, simply curious, like a mother trying to figure out the logic to a child's mind.

"Because I want to wake up to you every morning in the same bed without having to worry if I've checked my mail and paid the bills for my own apartment. I don't want to miss out on a few extra seconds or minutes or hours with you, because it means I have to go home to do whatever there. I want to be in a place that is ours, not yours and not mine, but ours." Stella's voice had gone from crackling to strong and confident about expressing her desire to live together to become quiet with unsureness. "Plus we practically already live together, so it means we could save a bunch of money. Most of my stuff is already at your place. It kinda makes sense."

"One word," Shannon said. "PMS."

Shannon pulled into the car park closest to the door she could find, killed the engine and got out of the car, leaving Stella to sit there momentarily stunned. She followed a moment later, weighed down with the feeling of embarrassment and slight disappointment, with a sliver of curiosity over the PMS comment. While the two of their bodies were synced within a day or two, it was generally the reasoning behind most, if not all, of their tiffs which were forgotten about with some tim-tams and cuddling. But her negative emotions were blown to pieces when she saw Shannon heading into the garage backwards with a smile.

"You do raise some pretty good points," Shannon said. "It sounds like a really good idea. We'll talk details after work, okay?"

"Really?" Stella asked. "For a moment there I thought you were going to say no."

"NO!" Shannon laughed, standing in the middle of the car park as Christian was dropped off by his wife, Annie.

"We're late!" Christian said, running past them into the base. They laughed at him and waved at Annie as she drove past.

"We've been together for a while now. I agree with what you said. It's nice to wake up to you, and not have to worry about anything else. In any of my past relationships, I usually broke up with the guy just so I wouldn't have to commit like this. But there is just something about you Stella Dagostino," Shannon growled playfully. Stella grinned as largely as she could. "So yes. I would love to move in with you. And you started this conversation, so it is now your fault that we are late."

Shannon turned on the ball of her foot, and jogged into the locker room, leaving her girlfriend standing alone and slightly dumbfounded. Stella's face dropped when Kerry had asked her why she was late, retracted her question, and continued to scold her. Again. And Michael and Josh had laughed at her. Again. Until they noticed the content smile on the young Senior Constables face and began making joking comments about her love life.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Stella yelled out down the corridor after their briefing had finished. She turned on her heel, let herself into Kerry's office and shut the door behind her. "Can I have a quick word?"

"If this is about your tardiness, I don't want to know."

"Finally, a boss that doesn't want to know specifically why I was thirty seconds late," Stella commented. "But it's not about that."

"Fine. Make it quick, you're meant to be out on patrol." Kerry didn't even look up from the paperwork she was skimming over to sign.

"It's about Frank and Connor." That was what got the Inspectors attention. Kerry nodded for the Senior Constable to continue and Stella leant against the back of a chair opposite her boss. "Connor may have, kind of threatened me yesterday."

"What?" came back at her angrily. "How dare he. What did he say?"

"Turns out Frank is in debt, that's why Buczek has had someone hassling him. And because Connor knows on behalf of Buczek, that I know about the basics of anything going on between them, I am now Frank's collateral."

"Collateral?"

"Frank has a week to pay his debt off to Buczek, or I get the short end of the stick so to speak. Connor wants me to play messenger and tell Frank about his deadline, but I was specifically told to stay away from my brother." Stella's voice cracked with her last words. "If it all goes to hell, anything that happens to me will simply be in order to teach Frank a lesson."

"You should have told me about this yesterday, Stella," Kerry sighed, dropping back into her seat. "We could have organised some protection."

"You saw what 'protection' did when Sam Stone was stalking me, Kerry." The fear suddenly became very obvious on Stella's face as she stared at her boss. "Anyways, if I can't get to Frank to tell him that he has until the end of the week to pay the biggest crime lord in Victoria, I don't see what good protection will do. If Buczek wants someone dead, it happens. You know that."

"Yeah, yeah. This getting way too far out of control. The shit is going to hit the fan very soon." Kerry was looking back at Stella with very little sympathy and the same amount of fear for her Senior Constable. Not that she would ever admit it in front of anyone, but Stella was actually her favourite of the junior officers, Leon included due to his childish mentality.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Does Shannon know about the threat?"

"No," Stella answered quickly. "And she's not going to, if I can help it. She already knows too much, and if I told her about the threat I would probably be in a house right now. I'm just not sure if it would be the dog house or a safe house. I told you because you know about Frank and you are my boss."

"You _should_ be in a safe house. You know that right?" Kerry asked.

"Yes I do, but if I agree to that and you take me off the job right now, Frank is fucked."

"He already is."

"But not as badly. He's going to be in shit no matter how this all goes down, Kerry. As much as I despise the creature that is apparently my brother, he is still my brother. I have to do something even if that means going behind ESD's back or whatever." Stella was practically pleading with her superior now.

"You realise that I can't go see him without them picking me up for something, right?" Kerry asked.

"Yes I know."

"And I can't tell ESD that you've been threatened because then we couldn't tell Frank without tipping him off about him being investigated. And on top of that, they would probably charge you with obstruction or something for now being entirely honest in that interview."

"Yeah, I know."

"You have a shift to start. There's nothing we can do at this point. You just be bloody careful out there!" Kerry warned her. "If you do anything stupid, I'll kill you myself. You got it?"

"Yeah I know. I'll add yours to my list of threats." She turned on her heel again and made a beeline for the door.

"Stella," Kerry called out. The brunettes turned around to face her boss. "You can be really stupid sometimes y'know? Why would you let yourself get involved with this?"

"What can I say?" she shrugged. "I'm a magnet for trouble. It runs in the family."

With their conversation over, Stella jogged down to the cars to begin the eight hour shift. For the entire morning, nothing was able to remove the forced happiness playing openly across Stella face. When she was put into TR2 with Shannon and Josh, she actually had to fight with herself, not to let her grin get any bigger or else the team leader would definitely be asking questions.

It was the second day in a row for the Tactical Response teams in which they had a quiet morning. And by quiet, it meant that they were called to attend one, maybe two jobs, instead of the usual half a dozen. Leon was telling Michael of his internet date the night before, only to get shut down by Audrey a few minutes later when she corrected his fictitious story. Stella had laughed whole heartedly, until Josh instructed her to take the car past a local Mob hangout and do a couple circles of the block.

From her seat in the back, behind Josh, Shannon was able to see Stella's carefree albeit still professional smile drop and disappear from view completely. She had noticed it the moment she had seen Stella waddling under the weight of the duffle bags back at base after their shift had ended. And it didn't look like she had simply had a bad shift, or had too much on her mind. Shannon liked to think that she could read Stella's emotions to an extent, after their ten months of being in a relationship together. But in the past fifteen hours, a mask had slipped over the brunettes face, blocking out Shannon's curious eyes and worried thoughts.

Dinner had been even quieter than normal; as soon as they had finished their shared cook meal, Stella had curled up against Shannon just like she did when there was a thunderstorm raging over their heads. After the dishes had been washed and their bodies had met against the bench, there was an aspect of the sex Stella had been the one to initiate that felt forced; as if she was holding something back, keeping something a secret. Between the two of them, their feelings had always been put up for display in a fit of raw passion which saw their clothes ripped and moans erupt and shudders of release against the damp sheets. But the night before had been anything but raw passion.

"Like a couple of flies on a shit heap," Josh said, scoffing as they spotted Connor and Udinov doing what appeared to be some business with locals.

Stella let out a chuckle, checking her mirror as they passed the black Range Rover at the designated speed of fifty kilometres. Connor was yelling at his Russian bodyguard and right hand man to leave the supplier they had been hassling, and to get his arse into the car. For a Monday morning, the streets were rather full of pedestrians and the beginning of the last minute Christmas shoppers and the occasional dog walker. Few uniformed officers roamed the local shopping centre around the corner for any holiday loitering.

"Stel, you alright?" she asked, for the second time in under three hours. The lack of crimes to investigate or attend was beginning to bore Shannon as well, leaving her with the majority of her shift to gaze around aimlessly at the passing scenery and be able to think deep and meaningful thoughts.

"Yeah. I told you before, I'm just tired." Stella had looked over her shoulder at her girlfriend, offering an almost comforting smile, as they were stopped at another red light.

Josh laughed and smirked. "What? You get a little some'in', some'in' last night, Stel?"

"Can't I rock up to work tired and genuinely happy without you and monkey-boy thinking that I had sex the night before?" she asked, watching Josh more that the traffic.

"Eyes on the road," Shannon called from the backseat.

"Nope," said Josh, facing the brunette. "And don't avoid the question."

"Alright, fine. Yes I am tired because I got laid last night," Stella admitted, with a defeated sigh.

"You're looking a little tired back there too, Shan. Anything we need to know?"

"Need to know or want to know?" she retaliated, lowering her head and doing a mental recap on whether or not she had put enough makeup on to cover the bags growing under her eyes.

"Both," said Stella. Ganging up on Shannon occasionally was a part of the reason they hadn't been caught. By pretending to play dumb around the boys about each other's relationships, any conclusions that their colleagues may have come up with was completely, or at least mostly dismissed. She still had an inkling that Josh had a pretty good idea of her relationship with Shannon.

"We want to know, therefore we need to know," said Josh.

"No, I didn't have sex last night."

The jokes and insults continued well after lunch, when Leon had become involved, and by default the boys in TR1 as they had listened in on their radios. Their fun was interrupted by Lawson when the Senior Sergeant declared that he didn't want to or need to know about Stella's sex life, especially when he knew better. Being a bloke, and the one who still fancied Shannon, he didn't attempt to stop the images that floated into his mind temporarily when the topic's sexual nature had first come up. But he had been pulled back to reality when VKC had called through on the radio and requested them at a house fire.

"So have you asked her yet?" Shannon asked from the backseat.

Josh faltered for a moment. "What is this? Rag on Josh day or something?"

"Hey, you started it asking about our sex lives," Shannon replied. She could see Stella do a double take at the mention of the words 'sex' and 'lives' in the same sentence. There was a split second where she thought 'life' was going to be said, and then that would have opened up a whole nother can of worms to deal with.

"You guys are going to want to check this out," said Leon, his fingers flying across his keyboard and the sound coming through on his earpiece.

"What's going on Leon?" Josh asked, with gratefulness in his voice for their conversation ending so suddenly.

"A silent alarm has just gone off at one of Anton Buczek's lesser used warehouse properties."

Stella's stomach dropped three feet, and she resisted the urge to bang her hand against the steering wheel in frustration. She wanted to get away from all of the bullshit; a holiday crossed her mind, or maybe annual leave.

"We haven't gotten a call about it yet." A few seconds later the request from VKC came through on the radio, and Josh answered it immediately as Leon began talking.

"That's because when Kerry told me to make some notes about Connor and Buczek, I may have applied a-."

"English Leon," Josh demanded. "Which warehouse?"

"Warehouse E, Coleman's Circuit, Carrum Downs. And I was speaking English, thank you very much."

"Fuckin' hell."

"Road trip!" Stella said, attempting to mask her fear.

"Alright, hit it Stel. Get up down there," Josh instructed as he turned on the sirens and lights, while Shannon pulled out the melways from under the driver's seat. "Fine, Layman's terms then Leon."

"I get a pop-up on my system when this sort of shit happens, okay?"

"That's all you needed to say then, Leon. What's so special about this warehouse?"

"Nothing, that's the thing. As far as I can tell, there are no notes from any divisions about what might be in there."

"If it's a warehouse, shouldn't there be freight paperwork, or something from shipping or courier companies, something like that?"

"You're right, there should be. But there isn't. My guess is that's like a backup warehouse just in case any of his other ones get raided or something."

"Or he uses to, ahh, interrogate any of his competition or enemies," Stella threw in.

"Now that makes more sense," Shannon said. "Is it such a good idea for us to be going down there is Stella is on both ESD's and Connor's watch lists? I mean I know that we're trying to stir the pot a little bit, but-"

"We're just having a look." Josh's tone was full of authority. "If we need to a search of the place, just be extra vigilant. Alright?"

Stella nodded along with Josh's suggestion, not game enough to sneak a look at Shannon in the back seat. "What are the chances that this is a false alarm?"

"Slim to nil, you know that."

"And if we get jumped?" Stella asked.

"We arrest them on the spot. I don't care what ESD says, or what Connor Barry says. As far as we know there has been a break in. Our job is to investigate that and see if any criminal activity outside of Buczek's bullshit has gone on. Alright?" He said. "Look, I know that you're under the gun a bit here, but we got your back in this. We protect our own, Stel."

As she sat in the backseat, everything that could and had a good chance of actually going wrong ran through Shannon's mind. Fiddling with the cross that hung from the necklace around her neck, she listened to Leon and Josh argue and discuss the basics; latest grudge against Buczek; who has access to the warehouse; who from the mob might be there when they arrived. She knew that she was nervous, but like her first day on the job with Tactical Response, Shannon hid any emotions written across her face and refused to let her mind wander to Stella. If she did, it was highly possible that she would demand the vehicle be turned around, or that Stella be taken off this particular run.

The brunette driving was trying to use the activity to distract her for the thirty minute drive down to Carrum Down. On the outside, Stella appeared to be only a little worried about being on Anton Buczek's property after the threat she had received the day before from Connor. On the inside, she could honestly admit it in her own mind that she what this close to shitting herself. But she wouldn't admit it to her two colleague in the car with her. Then she would have to come clean about the threat, and after worrying about it, Shannon would probably do Connor's job for him and kill Stella herself. If she admitted the threat, she would have to admit that her brother was the dirty cop involved. And then who knew what would happen. How she would be viewed by her team mates, by her girlfriend, the rest of the police force.

This whole aspect of Stella's life: it sucked!

In the thirty minutes they spend in the car, having pulled over once to pull out the computer pad to receive intel from Leon too large for their phones, the trio had managed to come up with a rough plan in case anything were to go wrong. With the sensitivity of the situation, a high profile crime boss owning the property they were checking out, it was a necessity to have their routes memorized. Their civilian Intelligence Officer had given them the floor plans and photographs, access points into and out of the building, as well as the basic information that had come from the uniformed officers that had been the first to arrive. The police officers from the Carrum Downs police station had been under strict orders to wait for the TR team to arrive before anything happened.

When they pulled up at the warehouse at three thirty in the early Monday afternoon sun, there was a single marked police car resting in the driveway it had been backed into a good forty minutes earlier. It's two officers were leaning against the bonnet of the vehicle, giving rather nasty greasy looks in the direction of TR2 as it parked adjacent to the building, rather than in the bays assigned for parking. The warehouses behind them were packed tightly against each other, no space separating the pale coloured buildings.

"Tossers," Josh muttered, pushing himself out of the car to greet the officers. "Alright. Who are you two?"

"Constables Adrian Cooper and Duncan Tate," said Cooper, addressing himself and then the taller blonde man next to him.

"Senior Sergeants Josh, Henry. Senior Constable Dagostino. Tactical Response."

"It's a simple 'b' and 'e'. Why do we need you guys to do a check over the place?" Cooper threw out.

"Because of who owns it," said Stella. She looked at them with curiosity and anger. "Have you guys just been sitting on your arses for the past forty five minutes?"

"That's what we were told to do. VKC requested that we sit on our arses while the three of you decided to take your time getting down here."

"Rookies. Either too cocky or too stupid," Stella whispered to her girlfriend as she opened the boot.

"We weren't exactly close. Did you at least do a perimeter check?" Shannon asked.

The three TR members were circling the car, scanning the stretch of road in the industrial area, going back to maps in the back of the car and finally pulling several bulletproof vests out of one of the bags. The entire strip of road, warehouses on both sides was completely deserted. There were no other cars in sight, nor a single person working, no machinery running, not plants on nature strips or even a tumbleweed rolling in the wind. Every building was shut up tight with very little advertising displayed, with the exception of company logos above administrative entrances. There were windows were windows above the doors, indicating that the buildings themselves were close to three stories tall with offices upstairs.

"It's a straight road; we can see the whole perimeter."

"Idiot. There's a back entrance for every one of these warehouses. You follow the road around and you'll see a four meter high garage door for every one of them."

"How was I supposed to know that?" Cooper sniped back. Tate had yet to say anything, quite happy to stand at the back and let his partner do the talking.

"You do a bloody perimeter check." Stella went along to hand the vests out to Shannon and Josh. "This place is too big for three people to search. Put your vests on. You're coming in with us."

"This is a great way to end out the shift," Shannon commented, pulling the semi-automatic rifle and locking its pieces into position, clearing the shaft and making sure the magazine was full.

"Typical uni's," Josh muttered under his breath.

"I don't like this," Shannon said.

Stella looked at her, pulling her tactical vest back on over her ballistics on. "What?" she asked, momentarily struggling to zip it up. Shannon turned around and had to zip it up for her, Stella gave her thanks with, what looked like to Josh, a friendly smile. Her eyes, however, began a private conversation with her girlfriend; giving an admission of her love silently and apologising for letting her family and colleagues dragged into the entire situation, despite knowing as little detail as they did.

"It's too quiet and deserted for four o'clock on a Monday afternoon."

"Christmas is only a few days away, any workers are probably all gone for the holidays," Josh suggested. "But you are right, there should be a couple cars at least."

"It feels like we're being watched."

"We're cops that have just rocked up to one of Anton Buczek's lesser used properties where an alarm has just gone off, Shan. One of his lap dogs have probably come down to check on it," Josh explained.

"You were right," Stella said, double checking the rifle for Shannon. "We are being watched. Upstairs window of warehouse F, one male. All I got is an outline, windows are too dark for any specifics."

"He still there?" Josh asked.

"Nah, he's gone."

"Hey! Get over here," said Josh, to the uniformed officers. He dropped the computer tablet containing the map in front of them onto the bags just as Tate and Cooper came to a stop behind them, still doing up their vests. "Alright, since you two are in such a lovely mood this afternoon," he said to Shannon and Stella, "you and Cooper are going to take this entrance at the back. Me and Tate will take the one at the front, clear the offices and then head into the warehouse."

"Any idea how it's set up in there?" Tate asked, finally opening his mouth for the first time since TR arrived. At least he was applying some level of attention.

"Not a clue," Josh replied. "You three take TR2 and hoof it around the back. We go in on my signal."

Cooper jumped into TR2 without another word, leaving Tate to offer a polite smile and follow Josh to the front door, lugging the drill that would take the lock from the door and allow them entry. Stella slammed the boot shut and took her place in the driver's seat.

"If this is just a 'b' and 'e', why do we need vests?" Cooper asked. His voice was becoming rather annoying to the women sitting in the front as the car started off to take the bed a few hundred meters up the road.

"Anton Buczek owns the building. We don't know what has happened in the past fifty minutes, if anything has in fact gone on in there. And don't say it's because VKC requested you sit your arse on your car," Shannon explained, interrupting Cooper as he went to make a remark. "On top of that, due to Buczek's position in society, if whoever broke in in the first place is still in there we could be met with some hostility. If we are, you do as I say. Do you understand?"

"Go Kerry," Stella said, when the car had been in silence for a few seconds, waiting for Cooper to reply.

Shannon looked at her girlfriend with minor insult and shock. "Shut up."

"Who's Anton Buczek?" he asked, stupidly. "And yes I understand. But humour me and fill me in alright princess."

"Russian Mob and crime lord," Stella said. "And don't call her princess."

"Suit yourself."

It was a long forty second drive to follow the road around in the TR vehicle as fast as Stella would allow, and having Constable Cooper in the backseat only made it worse. Stella felt as if her life could be sitting in the unexperienced officer's hands; as if she was facing a thousand members of the firing squad and there was a guarantee that at least one person got their target.

The rear end of the industrial road was very similar to the front, with the exception of the four meter high garage door Josh had described in place of the small standard door used for foot traffic. The set of warehouses that contained Buczek's own backed on to an empty landscape, dry and hot in the early Australian summer. The closest road was close to a kilometre away, showing only how deserted the area truly was.

"Josh, we got a vehicle here. Leon, Mitsibishi business van. Number plate is Echo Golf Bravo Nine Four Zero," Shannon announced into her radio. There was a white vehicle sitting outside the loading bay, the back doors to the garage door open wide for anyone nearby to have a look at what might be hidden inside.

"When we go in, I'll take point. Cooper you're the middle. Stel, you bring up the end." Shannon turned in her seat to face the Constable. "You do as we say, when we say it."

Cooper simply nodded as the TR car came to a screeching halt under Stella's foot, no more than ten feet from the van. Within seconds, the two TR members and the uniformed officer had jumped from the car just before it had come to a full stop, and they were already determining who would take which position around the van, to perform an immediate search. With a silent nod, both Shannon and Stella agreed that it was as deserted as the rest of the estate.

"It's clear," Stella said. "Waiting for your signal, Josh."

Stella took up a position by the backside of the door, for side entry and common foot traffic, while Shannon and Cooper took the other, ready to rush into the building when the Senior Constable opened the door for them.

"Three, two, one!"

Stella tugged the door handle, yanking it from its frame and allowing Shannon to enter. It took a strong nod of the head from Stella to get Cooper to follow her a second later. With her weapon drawn, Stella paused unintentionally to take in the overwhelming size of the interior. The outside did absolutely no justice, and it seemed to be absolutely huge. Stepping into the room, it appeared to be what looked like a disused courier distribution factory; with pallets and empty crates stacked high on the heavy duty shelves, machinery and forklifts parked neatly under tarps in a corner, the rest of the space filled with stages cordoned off for individual delivery areas.

"This is going to take too long to search," Shannon said. "Josh, I think we use some help down here. This place is too big."

"Yeah, I can see that. We're on the second storey, front end of the offices," he explained, voice coming through slightly garbled and muffled. From the position they had taken from behind the closest side of the stage, giving the trio only a partial view of the area that lay ahead of them, they could hear Josh yell for someone to stop.

Stella aimed her comment at Shannon, but with Cooper there with them it was hard to do so without her words being questioned. "I guess that would be the guy I saw hanging around in the window earlier. Leon, are there any security camera's in this place?"

"What guy?" Cooper asked.

The uniformed constable was ignored as Leon's reply came through. "Yeah but only on the exterior of the entrances. There's nothing inside at all. You're flying blind guys."

"What's the status of the van?"

"Stolen two days ago. Well, the plates specifically which match a green new model Holden owned by a Robert Maloney in Geelong."

"What's going on?"

"If I tell you to shut up, are you going to do it?" Shannon asked. "It's need to know and no offence kid, but you don't need to know. Go to the end of this stage and have a little look around. See if you can see anything."

"Fair enough," he shrugged, huffing along with what he was told and shuffling around Stella to do what Shannon had instructed him to do.

"If you can get access to the camera footage, go through and try to identify who left the car there. It might be the guy Josh is chasing."

"Got it," the tech-head said."

It was very obvious to Stella that temperatures were definitely running high for her girlfriend, and there was no doubt in her mind that she had something to do with it. "This is stupid," the brunette said, looking up at the warehouse room.

"What is?"

"This is an unused building where the alarm has gone off, as far as we know there is only one guy here, so why are _all_ of the lights on is this place?"

"Josh, you got him?" Shannon asked.

"Nup. He disappeared into one of these bloody office cubicles. Keep an eye out down there; one male offender, approximately six foot three, muscular build. No facial description as of yet." His voice disappeared and left the two of them with a silent greeting, both women looking at each other.

"You're the boss, what do you want to do?" Stella asked, looking at Shannon who appeared to be lost in thought as she planned their next move. As they kneeled there in silence for a few moments, Stella was wishing that she was the one with the rifle instead of her Glock. They were only supposed to be clearing the warehouse in response to the silent alarm going off, yet they were treating it like a raid on a suspect's property.

"You take Mister Trigger-Happy over there and do a quick search of the south side, I'll take the north," Shannon explained. "Don't take your eyes off him, and do not be afraid to shoot him."

"Thanks for your permission," Stella scoffed, sarcastically. She lowered her voice, "you know, I would kiss you right now if we didn't have company."

"Yeah. I would kiss me too," Shannon chuckled, winking at her girlfriend. "Be careful?"

"Always," Stella agreed. "You too, alright."

"Like I'm not usually," Shannon replied, before turning away from the brunette and disappearing past a set of steel stairs leading up and onto the stage they were hiding behind.

Stella watched her for the a few lasting seconds, before heading in the opposite direction. She patted Cooper on the shoulder to announce her presence. "Anything?" Just as she spoke, there was a distant crashing sound of wood hitting the concrete floor heavily a few aisles over to their right in the shelving that was off to the far side of the warehouse.

"Just that," he answered, lifting a hand in the rough direction it had come from.

"Alright, I'm going to take the lead. Here's the basics. Wherever I'm not looking, you look. When I pass you, you drop your weapon. Silent communication, you tap me on the shoulder and then you point. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," he answered. It seemed as if the banging noise from the crates and Josh's earlier screams had gotten through to him that the situation was serious, and possibly very dangerous.

"Let's go." Stella sprinted to the cover of the closest isle, ducking her head around the corner for a quick looksee. As far as she could tell, it was completely empty, but there were plenty of hiding places anyone could be, lying in wait to attack for their chance to evade custody. "We got aisle by isle."

Cooper simply nodded and took his lead from Stella, lowering his weapon like he was told, staying silent like he was told. They had gone past wooden pallet after wooden pallet, tarp after tarp, crate after crate. They had been walking down the first aisle they were searching for going on five minutes, aiming their weapons high and low as they went before anything of significance became apparent. The constable covering Stella's back tapped her on the shoulder incessantly.

"What is it?" She hissed.

"I saw something out of the corner of my eye."

"What?"

"Movement, a shadow maybe."

"Where?"

"Tarp, about seven meters down on the left."

Stella took a few seconds to attach her torch to the underside of the barrel on her gun. The layout and positioning of the shelves was completely inappropriate for Stella's search job; the rows of industrial lights hanging overhead were sitting directly above the two meter wide shelves, creating sharp angles of darkness on both sides of them.

With her weapon raised again and an addition source of focused light, she inched forward. "Give me some space. Cover me from that crate," she whispered, with a nudge of her head off to her right.

He whispered back his compliance and took up his place behind the crate hanging off the bottom shelf half a foot from the floor. Seven meters down the aisle, there was the slightest shift in the shadows and her senses increased tenfold. "If anyone is there, come out slowly with your hands up," she instructed.

Halfway on her journey to the tarp, she heard the distinct sound of a shoe being swept across a dusty floor. She was about to call for them to show themselves again, when there was another sound from behind her; the dull thud of something heavy coming into contact with someone's skull. Stella spun around fast enough to see the last few inches of what looked like a baseball bat retracting back into the darkness, Cooper still on his way unconsciously to floor completely limp.

She went straight to her radio. "Officer down. I got an offic-." Her attention became frayed as a familiar voice called out to her. When she turned around, there was a sharp pain in her head, and her world went dark.

* * *

**Well well well. Got questions? I know I do. Who attacked Stella? What's going to happen to her? Well, I know that last one, but I haven't decided on that first one just yet.**

**And thanks to In A Rush for the help naming the dummy uni's.**


	26. The Guilty Feeling

**Okay so I have to go to work this morning so it's only a quick little note from me. This has a lot of angst, or at least me writing what I think is angst. XD. Not a lot of Stella, but heaps of Shannon angry and upset and now I just want to hug her.**

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, but now I have to get ready for work, so read this instead.**

* * *

She couldn't breathe; there just wasn't enough air coming into her lungs and they were beginning to burn. She couldn't focus on anything with her mind or her vision; pieces of the puzzle weren't fitting together like they should, and there were simply too few pieces for her to make a whole picture. Her heart was beating too loudly in her ears, so loud in fact that she could barely hear the commotion the few hundred meters up the road. Her shoulders were heavy with guilt that had only pushed her down as the hours passed; she had been the one who instructed Stella to go one way with a rookie constable. The last thing she had heard from Stella was the grunt as whatever tool was used had connected with the brunette's head, and she was sure that it would haunt her for a very long time.

There was just no way, not a snowballs chance in hell that this could actually be happening.

Shannon was standing in the middle of the industrial road, watching the scene from a distance in the early evening sun as it shone in her glassy eyes, her fingers laced behind her head. If she could physically distance herself by walking away, it would just look like a nightmare or an extremely frightening dream. From a distance. Up close, the whole situation was even more dizzying, and mind turning than Shannon thought possible. Her knees weren't able to hold her up any longer, and she dropped into the gutter without a second thought. The few words Kerry had spoken to Shannon the moment she arrived were quick and simple, and rang out clear in her mind. _'Stay calm and hold it together.'_ It took her a while to put the pieces back together, but she managed to stop the tears and uneven breaths slowly. When her eyes finally look up to see the entire situation still unfolding, the first hour finished.

Two ambulances were sitting on the far edge of the commotion on relaxed alert, red and blue lights still flashing even though they had been there going on forty-five minutes. One set of paramedics was tending to Constable Cooper, checking his head wound and his competency; the other treating Josh, who had taken a tumble down two flights of stairs with the man he had been chasing, Stella's call through the radio taking him by surprise. A third ambulance had taken the mystery man to the nearest hospital to treat him for the serious injuries he gained in the fall, while Josh had gotten away with a black eye, a headache and a few bruised ribs. TR2 was still on the other side of the building, temporarily considered evidence in the case of a missing police officer. Anything that could have been used to trace Stella, like her radio, phone or camera, had been dumped in a pile next to the unconscious Constable, along with boots, a belt and a wallet.

TR1 had sped down here and somehow managed the thirty minute trip in just over fifteen, Kerry's police issued vehicle right behind them, at the announcement of Stella's sudden and ill timed disappearance. Kerry was pacing back and forth on the closest edge to Shannon, talking away quietly and rapidly on her phone, to one the Senior Sergeant could only guess was the Police Minister as she explained the situation so a press release could be issued to the public. Leon and Audrey had been instructed to comb the exterior surveillance and Stella's lapel camera footage for anything that may have been of use, while Lawson and Michael were interrogating Cooper, wanting to know if he knew or saw anything, the younger officer becoming rather heated. Christian had gone to the hospital with the unknown attacker as a protection detail and to question him after the doctors had checked him out.

The events leading up to Stella's kidnapping kept running through Shannon's mind; the basic protocol they used, how they operated, standard procedure had all been followed to a 't'. Their presence there was only supposed to have been for check out the reason behind the silent alarm being activated, but now in Shannon's mind it was obvious that the entire set up had been a trap. The only thing she had trouble figuring out was why Stella was their intended target. Something was missing and it was eating at her mind.

"Something's not right," she said to herself, muttering ideas and consequences and possible suspects under her breath.

"Shannon," Kerry said, having briskly walked the distance Shannon had put between herself and the situation. The Senior Sergeant hadn't noticed her boss's arrival into the immediate vicinity, still throwing ideas around in her mind as she tried to piece together a few of the distorted shapes. "Shannon."

As Kerry continued to raise her voice in an effort to gain Shannon's attention, she realised that she had never seen the woman become so invested in something, anything, no matter the topic. Then again she shouldn't be surprised considering what the missing woman meant to Shannon. In her own time and experience, the Inspector had come to know what a lot of things looked like; love, happiness, deception, anger. She had felt quite a few of them in her lifetime, and in the ten months that had passed since her two officers had admitted their relationship, she had seen the more positive emotions in both of them.

Without warning, Shannon's trance broke and her head snapped up to look at Kerry, her arms around her knees loosely. "Something's not right."

"Yeah, I gathered that from the fact that Stella has been missing for over an hour," Kerry retorted. She was about to go on to say that it would be a good idea if Shannon wasn't involved with the direct investigation and search for the much loved, and tolerated for others, brunette, but she before she was able to get three words out she was interrupted. "Now, I'm not sure-"

"Hang on," Shannon demanded, running halfway down the street and calling Lawson up to her. While she had only called out for the squad leader, Michael had practically sprinted past him in his effort to get to her and Josh had grunted with difficulty for the whole hundred meters. "Something isn't right."

"Are you serious?" Michael asked, the despair and anger evident on his face at her comment. "Do you see what's going on here?"

"Yes, Michael. I can see what's going on. I was in there when it happened, remember?"

"Alright, alright," Lawson said, waving a hand between the two of them, telling them both to return to their respective corners and for Shannon to get on with it.

"Look, it's not about Stella missing." Kerry looked at her as if she belonged in a closed ward that had padded rooms. Michael looked like he wanted to stomp and scream and chuck a tantrum in the middle of the street to avoid hitting something or someone with his fist. "It's not about the fact that she's gone."

"Oh really? And what is it about?" Josh asked.

"It's about _why_ she's missing," Shannon explained, standing from her seat on the cooling concrete. Her face lit up a tiny bit as ideas came together and connected effortlessly. "Kerry, you know as well as I do, what is going on here."

"Well it is a bit obvious," Kerry snapped.

"There's no need for sarcasm, we still don't know who took her and where."

"Shannon, what the hell are you talking about?" Lawson asked.

Shannon ignored him, keeping her gaze on the Inspector with a sense that something was being kept from her. "Dirty cops in league with Buczek and his boys." The secret connotation was fully understood by Kerry, but still partially lost of the rest of the group. The two remaining women began a silent argument over whether or not to tell the boys that the dirty cop was in fact one of Stella's older brothers, while the boys began voicing opinions and theories and throwing them at the Senior Sergeant. Shannon was close to opening her mouth to blurt it out when Kerry grabbed her arm and dragged her a few meters away back up the street.

"They don't need to know," Kerry warned. "Technically, it's still an ongoing ESD investigation."

She could feel the boys watching her. "If it could help us find her, they need to know."

"No, Shannon, they don't." Kerry sighed and shifted her position so that her back was facing the boys. "Look, I know that you're worried about you girlfriend, and that you have more puzzle pieces than the guys do, but that does not mean that you get to jeopardize an ESD investigation by outing Frank Dagostino. This needs to go down through the proper channels."

"So ESD get to control how hard we look for Stella because of his mistakes. This has all gone south and Frank is in the middle of the whole thing. We don't even need to tell them that it's Frank. All they need to know is that a dirty cop may have tipped off a member of the mob, someone close to Buczek, that Stella was held for questioning about a case possibly relating back to him, and now they kidnapped her to find out what she knows," Shannon explained in a hurry.

"It's not going to work."

"Why not?" Shannon snapped back, as equally forceful. "If it is Buczek that has her, we need to start looking now. We can't look in all the right places if members of this tactical squad aren't privy to the specific details."

"I know that, but it's not going to work Shannon."

"What is it?" The copper-haired woman eyed her boss for a moment, finally taking in her demeanour of defeat and her slumped shoulders. Kerry's huff and following sigh only verified Shannon's suspicions. "You know something, don't you? You're holding something back."

There was another huff before Kerry nudged her head in the direction of the group. With the present members of the team listening in to her words, she began to explain. "I was only made aware of this, this morning. Yesterday afternoon, when TR2 stopped for lunch, Stella was directly threatened by Connor Barry."

A cry of outrage echoed from the boys, none of whom knew about the brunette's relationship with Shannon, which was then followed by an unrelenting wave of questions. Shannon however was only left with more questions, than answers. "Why wouldn't she tell me? She tells me everything," she whispered to Kerry. "You knew. Why wouldn't _you_ tell me?"

"Stella didn't want anyone to worry or be placed in any unnecessary danger."

"Unnecessary danger? She's missing!" Shannon yelled. "You should have taken her off the rotation today."

"And what good would that have done, Shannon?" Kerry asked. "You know very well that when the Mob is after someone, they will get their target. Nothing will stop them."

"You could've kept her at base for the day. Organised a security detail or told us about the threat."

If this was anyone else, Shannon would have been angry along with the rest of the group sure, but not as fiercely pissed as she was at the moment. Her girlfriend had lied to her about a threat made directly at her life, and her boss had kept that a secret from her. In the end it had resulted in a negative outcome. There was a good chance that this was only going to get worse before it got better.

"What was the threat exactly?" Josh and Lawson asked simultaneously, before looking at each other silently stunned. They surprised themselves often by how much alike they were at times.

Kerry threw a sideways glance at Shannon before she answered. "It seems that Connor is aware that she was picked up by ESD Friday night. Most likely from an inside source."

"Dirty cop," Michael commented. Kerry glared at him to shut up.

"Yeah," she agreed, still maintaining her glare in the young officer's direction. "If she knew anything and therefore told the ESD detectives what she knew, Buczek's boys would come after her."

"This doesn't make any sense," Lawson said. "She's TR, she works with us. How would she know if anyone in any other department was crook?"

"Unless they think one of us has got something on the side," Josh added.

"I talked to the lead on the ESD case, and it's no one in this squad. She was offering her knowledge for a joint case ESD is working with another department."

"What department?" Michael asked. He had become quite defensive, having crossed his arms across his chest.

"I don't have clearance."

"Nah, that's bullshit Kerry," said Lawson. "There's way more to it than that. We all know something big is going on, so just tell us. We're going to find out eventually."

Josh raised his voice. "Kerry, whatever is going on, we're not going to judge Stella and I sure as hell don't care about a dirty cop. But if this could lose Stella her life, we need to know, and we need to know now!"

"Just tell them, Kerry," Shannon begged. "If you don't, I will. You knew it was going to come to this. Since Friday night, you've known."

Kerry kept her mouth shut. "If you do, you're gonna get in serious shit."

Shannon made a small theatricality of measuring the weight of her options, showing which one would win out every time. Kerry knew, even before Shannon even made the gesture, of what was going to happen. She wouldn't admit it to the team, because she was trying to instil that little bit of fear in them to keep her level of authority high, but if and when it came down to explaining the whole thing to the Police Minister, she would back them up and put it all on her own shoulders.

"The dirty cop that I mentioned earlier," Shannon started.

"Shannon!"

"It's Stella brother Frank."

The atmosphere circling the group went dead quiet, no one questioning or making smartarse remarks. Just standing there in silence. The boys watched her in horror, at the admission that she knew Stella's brother wasn't quite the saint he had been painted to be within the Victorian Police Force. Kerry could only see red at the fact that Shannon had actually told them.

"You realise that you're risking your career by telling them that?" The Inspector looked at Shannon, that familiar condescending and angry expression covering her face. Shannon simply shrugged and nodded; she would give up her career in a heartbeat if it meant that Stella would come back to her safe and sound. Whether or not it was a willing choice to leave the force. Whether or not they, as a couple, worked out in the future.

"You knew that it was her brother?" Lawson asked. "You knew on Friday morning, thanks to Stella and the rat squad telling you, that her brother in running under Anton Buczek?"

"Yep," Kerry admitted.

He turned on Shannon. "And you knew this whole time?"

"No," she answered honestly. "You know that Stella invited me to Bendigo for a family function, to get out of the city after Dom died. I saw Frank get the crap kicked out of him by Udinov in the pub parking lot. I thought whatever was going on was a onetime thing, maybe he was undercover. I didn't think that he would be dirty."

"You've known about this for almost two months now?"

Shannon could tell that Lawson was trying to pick if she was telling the truth or not. All she could hope for was that if he came to the conclusion that she was lying about anything, other than her ten month long romantic relationship with Stella to the team, he wouldn't out them to the team. The gears were turning in his mind, as he connected sour attitudes to the timeline Shannon had provided when she mentioned Dom's death.

"Stella convinced me that it was nothing, Lawson."

Suddenly telling the team wasn't such a good idea as they began to turn on her for knowing about the issue before hand.

"You could have prevented this Shannon," said Michael, his hand pointing to the ground angrily.

"How was I to know that she would get kidnapped? That it was that serious. She didn't tell me about this threat, did she?" Shannon asked. She tried to stare him down but it was unlikely that he was going to relent. That was until a light bulb when off in her mind. "Something's missing," she repeated.

"What now?" Kerry asked.

"You left something out of the threat from Buczek."That comment was what got everyone's attention off Shannon and onto Kerry. "If she knew something, she would have simply told Connor that yesterday, knowing that if he caught her out, he could have had her killed within the hour. He already knows that Stella is aware of Frank's involvement so how does he play into it?"

"When Stella told me this morning that Connor fucking Barry had threatened her, she explained that she was considered Frank's collateral."

"Collateral?" Michael asked. "What does that mean?"

"It's like leverage. Usually a family member is threatened to get whoever has been doing the dirty to cough up on their end of the bargain, or pay back what they owe," Josh explained.

"In this case, its Stella's life for her brother's mistake," Shannon finished, as everything began to click into place. "Thing is, we don't know what his mistake it. As far as I can tell, he's in deep shit. That's it. The kind of shit that it is, is another question entirely."

"According to Connor, who wanted Stella to give Frank a message but she was forbidden from contacting him by ESD. Frank has a week to get himself out of that deep shit he's found himself in."

"If he has a week to get himself out of it, why was Stella taken the day after the threat was made?" Shannon asked. Her mind lit up with ideas, only to but cut short when her train of through was interrupted.

Kerry's phone went off at the particular moment, pulling her away from the group as she took in the caller ID lighting up the LED screen on the front of the device. She walked away far enough for the words she was speaking to be nothing but mimed words, and paced the width of the street for several minutes as Lawson and Josh threw more plausible theories back and forth._ 'Why not Frank's wife or child? Why Stella? What is Buczek holding over him? How has he supposed to have been helping the crime lord and Mob boss?'_ Michael was attempting to pitch in, in an effort to not feel more helpless than he already was.

Shannon was only half paying attention to the boys, listening with her auditory senses and she gazed at Kerry talking rapidly on the phone again. Shannon longed to be able to hear the conversation in full, but knew that when it came to having it explained, it would strictly be the cliff notes version. Shannon already knew the answer to one of the boy's questions.

"It was Stella because she knew he involved in something," she explained, still refusing to let her eyes leave Kerry's form. "It was Stella because she saw Frank get beaten up by Udinov at her father's birthday party."

"You saw that too, so why not you?" Michael asked.

"I don't mean the same thing to Frank as what Stella does. They act like the quarrelling siblings all the time and that they don't love each other, but in reality they would do anything for each other. Family means a lot to the two of them, no matter how badly they get along. It's how they were raised," Shannon said. Eventually when she realised that Kerry's conversation was probably going to a relatively long one, she turned back to face the remaining male members of the team.

They were all looking at her with the same exact curious expression. Yes, Lawson knew about her relationship and she was sure that Josh suspected, but Michael was still completely clueless that it was in fact Shannon who was the mystery girl that meant everything to Stella. It seemed to have dawned on Lawson Blake just how much they meant to each other, who first thought that it was just a joke, that Shannon was sexually frustrated and Stella simply wanted a root. He thought that it wouldn't last long and eventually Shannon would be his. Apparently the situation had gone in the complete opposite direction, and at full speed.

"Well, now that we know the basics, it give us a starting point to try and find her," said Lawson, over the engine of the two ambulances as they pushed their way down the street.

"Not yet, it doesn't," Kerry announced, coming back to join the group.

"What do you mean?" Shannon asked. "We know who is responsible for taking her."

"Yes, we do. But that doesn't mean that we are legally allowed to attempt to bust down Anton Buczek's front gate to ask him who of his boys kidnapped a cop, and where they took her," Kerry explained.

"I hate it when you're sarcastic," Shannon mumbled.

Kerry glared at her like she did at Michael when he made his own smartarse comment. "Now that one of my team members has gone missing and this is related to Buczek, the AFP have decided to make themselves known in this situation."

They all looked at her with no hope, but only Michael was on to voice the question they were all thinking."The Feds? What are they doing on this?"

"Seeing as Frank Dagostino is in the Major Crimes department, he can't work the case against Buczek. One, it's a conflict of interest, and two, he could make half of the evidence against a Russian crime lord disappear. Not to mention all of the other ethical and moral wrongs that would be happening," Kerry said.

"If the Feds are working this, Stella is as good as dead," said Josh, rubbing his shoulder with a glare at Michael, who had just punched him hard in the arm for his comment. He threw a solid punch back at the boy, who tried not to show any effect from the strength of the hit but failed when Josh wasn't looking. "I know that we shouldn't think like that, but they take too long to do this sort of stuff. A search and rescue isn't their style. We could find her faster."

"In a way that can be considered unconventional and at times illegal. I know that this team would be able to find her faster than anyone, but if we bust up a four year investigation to catch Buczek doing the dirty, we could never get her back and we could go down in flames with the case too." Kerry threw another sideways glance at Shannon, who had become closed off to the rest of the group.

"We can't do nothing, Kerry," she said quietly. "You know we would all crash and burn for each other."

"I didn't say we were going to do nothing. We just can't bust up their investigation," Kerry smirked. "Leon's trying to track the van, where it came from, where it went but any security cameras in the street are either dummy's or feed has been looped. Exterior cameras give us practically nothing. Audrey's running through Stella's lapel camera footage to see if there is anything useful. Christian is waiting for the guy at the hospital. We are all going to go there and then come up with a secondary plan. Understood?"

They all nodded.

"TR2 has just been released from forensics so one of you can take that. Michael, you're not on your own. Shannon, you're with me," Kerry instructed, nearly having to drag the Senior Sergeant to her car by the armpit of her vest. "Also, Frank Dagostino is purely off limits to you all. ESD is handling him. You keep your distance."

It was more of a warning to Shannon, but since the woman was going to be riding shotgun in the recent model Ford there was little chance that she could actually seek out Frank to interrogate him. For Kerry, it was complete déjà vu as she sat in the driver's seat of her car, heading towards the hospital. Her passenger was sitting next to her quietly and Kerry was either to angry to speak, or she just simply didn't know what to say.

"Technically, I should take you off of this," Kerry said.

Shannon scoffed. "The same way you should have taken Stella off duty this morning?"

"Look, I understand that you're pissed at me for it. You know better than anyone that when Stella wants her way, she gets it. No matter what. Now I don't want to know how she works that with you, but with me she used the whole 'a security detail won't do shit, you saw how it went down when I was being stalked'."

Shannon chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like her. Why did you let her come out?"

"I figured that she would be safer with a tactical squad that would actually watch her back." Shannon felt another wave of guilt roll through her. "It's just our luck that it had to be Anton Buczek's warehouse that had the silent alarm tripped."

"They were waiting for us. They knew that we would come. But how did they know that it would be Stella that here."

With Kerry's level of expertise and life's experiences on the job, she jumped to the conclusion before Shannon did. "They do it twice."

"What?" Shannon asked.

"They have two traps. If they can't get her at the first one, they trip the alarm at the second one. With the owner being so high on the Police Watch list, Feds or otherwise, a tactically trained squad which happens to have their target in the group, was bound to turn up at one, if not both."

"So if they didn't get her this afternoon in Carrum Downs they would have gotten her somewhere else?"

"Exactly."

They both sat in silence, pondering within the boundaries of their own minds. Seeing as Kerry's position within the team was the highest, anything and everything that could and probably would go wrong was running through her mind, along with how she was going to explain everything to everyone that needed to know and where she was supposed to start. Shannon was connecting the dots and in her mental haste, creating theories that were more and more less likely to happen but completely possible in her thoughts. If it worked in her mind, it would work in reality and they could use her unethical or occasionally morally wrong thinking to back the idea.

"We need to start with Frank," she said, barely having noticed that Kerry had just pulled up to the hospital, TR1 was parked directly behind them.

"He's off limits-,"

"Kerry! He knows what is going on! If anyone is going to know why Buczek has had Stella kidnapped, it's going to be the cop who is doing his dirty work! You said it yourself that Frank had a week to handle his debt." Shannon was red with anger at Kerry's ability to brush off Frank's part within the whole messed up situation. "If he had the week, why are they six days early?"

"You need to calm down!" Kerry demanded. "Now! Shannon, if you become out of control and God forbid, 'pull a Josh' by going off road to find her, I will have no choice to apply to proper punishment. That could very well include the end of you place in TR!"

Shannon sulked in the passenger seat, her hands wringing tightly between her knees as one of foot bounced rapidly, moving the car with the force of the gesture. When she looked up at Kerry, there were tears in her eyes.

"Shannon, I don't want to take you off of this," Kerry begged the younger woman, her hand covering Shannon's own. "I know how much Stella means to you. But you can't lose it right now. You have to keep it together. Because if you do, and Stella finds out that you outed your relationship to the entire team, you're probably going to be in some trouble."

Shannon chuckled through her tears, and nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"You sit here for a few minutes, calm down and catch your breath. Have a cry and then pull it together, because I know that you can bottle it all up. Hide the redness that's now around your eyes, okay?"

"Alright," Shannon said. "Pull it together, got it, Boss Lady."

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Kerry made a show of taking the keys with a pointed glare and a raised eyebrow. The Inspector muttered under her breath about the nickname, and how the two women were spending way too much time together because Stella was rubbing off on Shannon. Without the key's, Shannon wouldn't be able to drive back to the city, hunt down Frank Dagostino and beat the every loving shit out of him for bringing Stella into the mess. She wouldn't be able to put the blame on him publicly, regardless of the fact that she would screw up a rather large investigation and probably put his life in even more jeopardy.

But she didn't care. Stella had been missing for over an hour by now, and for all the TR members knew, she was already dead. Shannon had to blink back another few tears at the thought. She could see and feel the rest of the team standing outside, waiting to go in and interrogate Josh's mystery guy and get a more detailed statement from Cooper, watching her, asking Kerry what was going on when the Inspector finally reached them.

"What's wrong with Shannon?" Josh asked.

"She's just feeling a little guilty," she heard Kerry say, and the emotion itself was dropped like a ten tonne slab of concrete from the roof of the Eureka building onto the other feelings that had been bubbling for sixty minutes.

"Why? I was the one that told them to take the back." Shannon had to strain her ears just to hear the man's words over her uneven and heavy breathing.

"But she was the one who suggested they split up in the first place," Kerry explained. She and Josh looked back at Shannon in the car, and even though she wanted to divert her gaze from them, she couldn't. Her inability to look away made the guilt in her heart and the pit of her stomach grow stronger. Josh offered an encouraging smile, one that said 'it's not your fault', one that said 'we will get through this, she will be fine'. Shannon shook her head at him and felt a few new tears slip down her face.

Lawson appeared next to him out of thin air and gave him an order. "Go and find Christian."

With a glare in the direction of Lawson at the offhanded demand from his best mate, Josh stalked off towards Michael who was waiting impatiently and angrily at the front doors of the hospital. Once he was sure that the two boys were out of hearing distance, he turned on Kerry. "This is your fault," he warned, a pointed finger in Shannon's direction as she was sitting in the car. His negative body language told Shannon that their conversation wasn't exactly going to pleasant and she slinked out of the car to hear their heated words be exchanged. He was so taken by the impending argument that he didn't see her arrive within ten feet.

"How is this my fault? Huh?"

"You were the one who 'set boundaries' for a relationship rather than telling them to end it," he said. "They never should have happened. And you know it."

At his words, Shannon lunged and pushed him with a juvenile and primal anger growing inside of her, dwarfing any other emotion that was still able to fit inside of her. She didn't want to be the cop with anger issues, looking for punch-ons every other week, especially with her superiors, but he had insulted the one highly important thing she had going for her at the moment. He had also come full circle to contradict himself. Kerry made her presence known by getting in between the two of them. The last thing Tactical Response needed, along with the news of a missing officer, was the brawl between two of its team members outside of a hospital.

"Never should have happened, my arse!" Shannon remarked. "Says the guy who tried to get it on with me after I told you I wasn't single. Ever since you found, you've resented our relationship!"

"What do I have to resent?" he threw back at her with an equal amount of spite. "Huh?"

Shannon lowered her voice, suspecting that they had a few members of an audience. "The fact that it's Stella and not you." Lawson just looked at her, almost as if he was unwilling to believe that Shannon had just outed him to Kerry about his feelings for the only female senior officer in the squad. "This happens and I temporarily loose the plot, and now you're all against a relationship within the team. But if you were in my shoes, you would be defending a relationship rather than trying to support it."

Lawson sighed and huffed and refused to look up to watch Shannon rush into the hospital to get away from the Senior Sergeant. Kerry had her arms crossed over her chest, ready to rip him a new one. "What and when exactly did you try to 'get on' with Shannon? You told me that you were supportive of their relationship as long as it didn't interfere with work."

"It's interfering now. Kerry, you understand that I can't have an emotionally volatile officer on the roads while we try and hunt down her missing secret girlfriend," he argued back.

"Lawson, she feels guilty. She told Stella to take Cooper and search the south side of the warehouse. A Tactically trained officer with a general duties cop? That is excess baggage."

"That's not the point. Stella probably would have gone missing with or without Cooper. She's involved in all of this bullshit, how do we know that this wasn't an escape plan?"

"That is horse shit and you very well know it. Stella has nothing to do with any of this side job crap. Now I know she doesn't exactly have the cleanest record, but she's not stupid, and she knows right from wrong."

"Then-"

"And don't say that if she knows right from wrong, she wouldn't have gotten into a relationship with a colleague." Lawson huffed again. "They are both good officers and have a great relationship Lawson. I set boundaries, that you agreed to, and they have stayed well within those lines. I know that you can see it, that it's real between them, so stop acting like a child, resenting them or hating the fact that you lost Shannon to someone else, and go and find another girl. Jesus, it feels like I work in a bloody high school with the amount of drama we have every week."

Kerry shook her head and walked away from her squad leader, heading into the hospital to find out who this man was and what his connection was to the whole thing. She had barely made it ten paces into the building, with the intention of asking at the front desk, when Shannon's voice stopped her.

"Thank you," came out across the open foyer.

"For what?" Kerry asked.

"Defending us. Defending me against Lawson for losing it."

"You heard the whole little spiel I just spat out, huh?"

"Yeah," Shannon nodded.

"Well, he did kind of walk into it. But he has a point about one thing."

"What's that?"

"This unit cannot afford to have an emotionally volatile member out on the road during this search." Kerry had that smirk on her face when she was having a silent conversation with someone. It practically screamed at whoever was within three feet of her, whether or not you knew the actual topic of conversation, that you played by Kerry's rules no matter what.

Shannon understood the warning loud and clear. She nodded. "Keep it together, or I get taken off of the job, I know. I've had my breakdown. I'm good now."

"Good. Now let's go and find this arsehole"

They ended up with Josh and Michael in the emergency department, because Christian was still with the man and he was up in radiology, getting a few scans to make sure that there was no major head damage or possibly sneaky injuries on their way to developing. Lawson had gone up to meet the Junior Constable, to fill him in on what news had happened and the conclusions they had come too. He also thought it be best if he wasn't in the direct vicinity of Shannon or Kerry for a little while. The four of them were crowded around the bed of Constable Cooper, as the nurse sent a greasy expression to the lot of them as she left, having snapped on the hospital issue bracelet and stabbed him with a few needles.

"What happened?" Shannon asked, the moment she was gone. Her tone held no reservations and was more solid than a wrecking ball. Josh pulled the curtains closed to offer them all some privacy, due to the nature of the conversation.

"We were checking the first aisle. There was a noise."

"What was it?" Kerry asked.

"We didn't quite get there. You know, we were kind of assaulted, but it was a crashing sound, like one of those wooden pallet things being dropped onto the floor.

"Then what happened?" The group watched him with as much attention as they could muster, hanging on his every word in the hopes of picking up any details, no matter how small, that could possibly give them an idea of what steps they needed to take.

"We start going down the aisle slowly, I guess the Senior Constable wanted to be cautious, you'know? Anyway, we were about halfway down when I thought I saw something move. I'm pretty sure it was a shadow. Made when whoever was hiding behind the tarp moved. I told her I saw it, she told me to wait behind a crate and to cover her. I did, and she starts calling out. A few seconds later I hit the floor. I didn't see or hear anything after that, seeing as I was out cold."

"Well, that's give us a whole shit heap of nothing," Michael snapped, getting trapped in the curtains on his way out.

"Nothing?" Shannon asked.

"No. Sorry." Cooper shook his head. "Is she okay? I know you guys are protective of each other and everything, but-"

"Senior Constable Dagostino is missing, you idiot. And there is nothing you can give us that might help us locate her now," Shannon drawled out slowly and sarcastically, frowning at him with disappointment and anger. He muttered another apology and shrunk into his pillows. The heart monitor he was attached too began to beep more rapidly. Kerry smirked; Shannon was learning how to scare people with a very easy sentence, and a look. The nurse came and told them to remove themselves quickly.

In the nurse's station, the last of the six o'clock news was playing out on a small TV quietly above the staff's head as they went about their jobs. Something caught Shannon's eyes, drawing her over to the TV. It wasn't very high, but she still had to ask Josh to reach the volume so they could hear it over the hustle and bustle of the department. That was when she realised what had drawn her attention; there was an insert picture of Stella smiling that looked like it had been taken from a group photo. She could see half of Michael's face in the background, blurred out so the audience would focus on the brunette. The male newsreader was sitting there, scanning a piece of paper he had just been handed from off screen.

_'And lastly, Constable Stella Dagostino, a member of the Tactical Response Police Unit has gone missing this afternoon during a routine check of warehouse district in the south east suburbs. There is yet to be an official statement from Police officials as to exactly what has happened today and if this is an act against the police, or a more personal issue with severe consequences. We will keep you updated at the story progresses.'_

The closing credits of the news rolled and Shannon was angrier than she had been outside after hearing Lawson putting her relationship down.She turned to Kerry, but wasn't able to vent her rage through words, huffed and left the department for some fresh air. It was probably a good idea if she wasn't there to interrogate the man upstairs. Shannon leant against a wall outside the main doors, hoping that if she could show Lawson and Kerry that she was able to take herself out of the equation momentarily, they would be less inclined to remove her from the job entirely.

"You alright?" Josh asked, having followed her after all of thirty seconds. He had that expression on his face, when he was worried and caring and scared of Shannon's overall reaction. Josh came to a stop directly in front of her with his hands buried in his pockets.

"That news broadcast could get her killed, Josh."

"Yeah, and so could ten thousand other things," he commented, earning himself a glare.

"But almost all of those things won't do any harm in the next seventy two hours, Josh."

"Look, I know you feel guilty, but you're everywhere at the moment. You sure you're okay?"

Shannon held his gaze. "She's my best mate Josh. If hadn't told her to take the south side.."

"Then you would have been a part of their little diabolical plan to get to her."

"But if we had stayed together."

"Stop arguing, Shannon," he ordered. "Look at me. What's done it done, and all we can do now is try to fix it, alright? We're going to get her back. No argument. It hasn't even been two hours yet. This isn't your fault. It's...Franks'."

"What I wouldn't do to have a go at him," she muttered, before realising that she had said that out loud and to Josh. He smirked at her, and she relaxed, understanding that he would probably help her get away to 'talk' to the middle Dagostino child, or turn a blind eye if she lost hold of the reins on her emotions when she saw him.

"Fuck!" Shannon hissed, her closed fist hitting the cement wall she was leaning against.

"What?" He asked stupidly.

"Her parents. What if they've seen that news broadcast?" Shannon asked, pushing off of the wall and heading inside to find Kerry. Josh trailed behind her, almost struggling to keep up with her. "It's not exactly the way you want to find out that your youngest child is missing."

Kerry was upstairs already, having walked the whole way on her phone talking to one ESD Detective Jamieson, who was attempting to warn her again and again that Frank was off limits. Shannon and Josh came up to her just as she was ending the argument. She paced outside of the private room of their unknown assailant, her phone pressed to her ear. When Shannon tried to walk passed her and into the room, a hand snapped out and stopped her.

"Look here Jamieson, I get that this is a big deal for you ESD guys alright? But I've got a missing cop to find and her brother is the closest thing we have to starting to find her. If I feel that it is necessary to talk to him, I will. One of you can be present if and when we do question him," she explained with a tone of icy steel. With that, she ended the call and shoved the device back into her pocket.

"Remind me not to mess with you," said Josh, lightening the mood for a few seconds.

"Shut up Josh," she demanded, before turning on Shannon. "Not a word out of you while we talk to him. In fact, I don't want you here."

"Kerry!"

"Do not argue. We have the warehouse until Stella is found, so I want to the two of you to go back and see if you can find anything that we can use. There were at least two people there who took her, and they had to be waiting at least since the alarm initially went off. That's a good forty-five minutes of waiting for something to happen."

"I go get the car," said Josh, turning on his heel and walking odd down the hallway. He frowned when Shannon didn't follow him. He didn't stop, but threw a glance over his shoulder instead.

"Have her parents been called yet?" Shannon asked.

"No, not yet." Kerry sighed and added the task to never ending and rapidly growing list of things to take care off.

"I want to do it," came from her mouth before she could really stop herself.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Shannon. You're too close to this. If you are the one to tell them, given the nature of your relationship with Stella, it might do more harm than good. An authority figure will be better. Look, if you want to help, go to the warehouse with Josh, run through ideas, have a good snoop for anything forensics missed," the Inspector said gently, her words laced with demand.

Shannon conceded and nodded, before turning to run after Josh.

"This is going to be a long day," Kerry muttered to herself, watching Shannon push through the stairwell door. Kerry shook her head, already exhausted, and headed into the private room.

* * *

_Shannon was lying next to her, smiling through a curtain of dark copper hair as they were cuddled into the doona of Stella's bed._

_The brunette reached out to try and brush a strand of hair to the side, to see Shannon's eyes more clearly, the distance between them grew and suddenly her girlfriend was out of arms reach for her._

_Whatever grip she had on the old woman was gone, and she began clawing at the mattress, in an effort to reach Shannon._

_A heavy pounding in the side of her head began to set in, pulling Shannon further and further into the darkness and away from Stella._

Stella's eyes snapped open suddenly, and her eyes hurt from the force she had opened them with. Her head was pounding unrelentingly, and her arms were tied behind her back with what felt like a pair of her own flex-cuffs. Thankfully, she was already sitting up so any of the energy that she didn't have wouldn't be used up. Stella took several large breaths, trying to get her bearings and tilted her head back and forth to look around.

Most of her prison was in complete darkness and at times, she could barely see her feet. There was nothing that could give away her position. There was very little light coming in to wherever it was that she was being held, the only source coming from the few air vents across the top. Fresh air with hint of salt and petrol reach her nostrils. There was a cool metal against her back, and she realised how cold she was. The backs of her pants and her feet were wet. Her body was shivering yet she was feeling hot and sick; she wanted to puke. Stella gauged that it would be because of the head wound. She could see stars in the darkness.

Stella gulped and shivered again. The distant sound of a deep resonating horn reached her ears. Her whole body was sore, as if she had been given a few kicks for good measure and dropped on her side. For all she could tell, she was alone in her prison and wondered momentarily if the darkness was just a bad dream. And then the cuffs dug into her wrists sharply.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Where do you think she is being held?**


	27. The Lack Of Progress

**So I finally got this up, and I'm aiming for another one before or on chrissy day, but I have to work on dad's prezzie and i'm working chissy day too. Money money money! So this chapter is divided into two parts on the same day. Shannon gets the first half, Stella gets the second half, although the parts aren't equal halves. Should have more on Stella in the next chapter plus Gary Ryan's interrogation. Might let Shannon loose on him**

**Carla-Leigh - I still haven't decided on the specific injuries, but the outcome isn't looking good for out favourite Senior Constable.**

**In A Rush - thank you for giving me the motivation to finish the godforsaken chapter. So far its been two days, but you knew that already.**

**Happy Hereford - It's not a mother fuckin' boat, but close. Also sorry, I didn't get to msn the other night, I was at work.**

**K - Hopefully the emotions in this chapter live up to its predecessor.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been two days.

Two whole days, and not a single scrap of information about Stella or her wellbeing had been found.

Nothing.

What had once been a tactically trained six member team, had devolved to an exhausted ragtag group of almost rogue police officers as they scoured every inch of the city of Melbourne, it's surrounding suburbs and occasionally underground, chasing one empty lead after another for hours on end. While the group had only lost one of their own temporarily, they were bound to get her back eventually, it didn't stop the thought of being Stella-less permanently from running through everyone's mind more than once. It ran through Shannon's mind on a regular basis as she tiredly fiddled with the chain around her neck in comfort every few minutes over the forty eight hours.

The first night that Stella had gone missing had the entire team pulling an all nighter; the faster they worked, the less likely they were to lose a lot of ground in their desperate chase for their beloved Senior Constable. Thanks to the brief and unscripted announcement of Stella's disappearance on Channel Ten's evening news, Kerry and Lawson had been forced to stand behind the Police Minister at a press conference while he officially listed her as missing to the general public. The controversy had spread like wildfire throughout the state rapidly. The story was that there was no real idea behind who had taken her, if it was a personal issue with extreme consequences or just a poorly excused hazard of the jobs the Police perform and reinforce every day.

After Kerry and Lawson stood in front of the cameras, Shannon was been forced to leave the base to get a few hours sleep, before they could pick up the search again the next morning. Kerry had returned from her press conference to find the Senior Sergeant at a loss, staring into Stella's open locked, a pad of paper sitting next to her covered in diagrams of people and who they were connected to and how. Thankfully for Shannon, Kerry hadn't seen the detailed lists covering the next six or seven pages of the pad, and she shuffled out the door, only to cry herself into a restless and painful sleep for three hours on the hardwood floor of Stella's apartment.

Leon and Audrey had sat behind their desks, staring at their computer screens for hours at a time, without so much as a toilet break, chasing every lead they could find on the video footage, and at Shannon's suggestion, the video from lunch the day before. Stella's camera coincidentally lost any kind of power when she entered the store. The intelligence officer had cursed at himself for not noticing it earlier. Michael had yelled at him, only to be reprimanded by Josh as he was grabbed roughly by the neck and chucked out into the hallway for a stern talking to. Since five pm the day before, the young Senior Constable had complained that they weren't doing enough to find his best friend, that they needed to knock down whatever door Buczek was hiding behind and question him. Despite his complaints being heard and ignored because they all felt the same way, it didn't stop Shannon from wanting to jump from the car whenever he started speaking.

Christian had prayed for his friend and colleague to be returned to them safely, his faith giving him a reason to believe that she would be. No one had the heart to tell him that there was a good chance that Stella would be returned to them one of two ways: either badly hurt, or dead. The only reason no one would tell him was because they didn't want to say it, so none of them commented when his head hit his locker with a gentle hollow thud, and his lips began moving inaudibly. After reprimanding Michael, Josh had gone off at Shannon barely an hour into their second day, telling her to get some sleep. She had feigned the act 'Stella style' in the backseat of TR2 just to appease him, when she would really spend the time running over the information she had practically burnt into the back of her eyelids. Josh had checked on her, very well aware that she wasn't actually sleeping, but felt that she was trying so he left her alone.

There was no real method to the madness they had developed in their chaotic and desperate search to bring Stella home. Preferably alive.

After the meeting with the cameras and reporters, Kerry had been whisked away into a board room somewhere deep in the maze of hallways known as the Police Ministers Headquarters, along with a delegation of Federal Police Agents and the ESD detectives she had dealings with earlier in the week. Even though Tactical Response had been searching for Stella in any and every way possible, there was still the issue of jurisdiction regarding her disappearance. It had been a TR member that went missing, as a result of her brother's involvement in illegal activities with known associates and employees of an international crime lord who were being investigated by ESD and the AFP respectively. Kerry still had yet to explain their conclusions to the team, so they knew what boundaries to avoid pushing on too hard.

By Thursday afternoon, the second day had officially passed and they were running out of the time that guaranteed Stella's survival. According to the thirty or so percentage of statistics that weren't made up, any chance that the Senior Constable had of making it out alive diminished dramatically to slim to none. By Thursday afternoon, the team had stopped for a half an hour to have a briefing and a cheap and quick dinner before getting back out on the road to chase a few more leads. Already they had more to show for their days work than they had for day before; the mystery man Josh had spear tackled down the two flights of stairs still wasn't talking but now they had a name to pin on him. Matthew Woods. He had a list of priors at least a meter long, from minor and common assault to drug possession and intent to distribute, as well a list of known aliases to boot.

"So the Feds haven't been able to get anything out of Woods. He was taken out of the hospital today and into custody," Kerry explained, looking at the most defeated bunch of people she had ever laid eyes on. It was apparent than none of them were hungry, only nibbling at the two large pizzas sitting on the kitchen table. Shannon began to open her mouth, but Kerry was able to shut her down. "And no you cannot have a go at him, Shannon."

"I'm not the only one who wants to do it," said Shannon, dropping her food back onto the paper plate.

"You and those bureaucrats decided who officially gets this yet?" Michael asked.

"Yeah," Christian agreed.

Because there was still a rather heated debate going on between the three leaders from each division, the members of TR felt extremely useless at the idea of not being able to touch Frank Dagostino, Connor Barry or Anton Buczek.

"No," Kerry sighed.

Shannon scoffed. "That's bullshit, Kerry! So what, the loss of one cop is the price we pay so they can take him down 'their way'?"

"Look, I know it's not ideal-"

"No, this is more than simply not ideal," exclaimed Josh, his seat screeching backwards like nails on a chalkboard as he stood up abruptly. "We have been sitting on our arses chasing these leads that take us nowhere for two days now, because we can't touch Buczek or Connor. We're gonna loose her for good if we don't do something. I'll shoulder the blame Kerry, if that's what it comes down to."

"No. We'll all take it," Lawson said. "If we go rogue, we all wear it. If you don't want to risk it, feel free to say so now and you can do something a little more legal if you like."

He looked around the table. Leon was munching his way through a third piece of pizza, but didn't move from his place against the sink. Audrey stayed quiet next to Michael, and smoothed out her skirt as her boyfriend crossed his arms. Josh was still standing, looking ready to fight. Shannon smirked at the loyalty they were showing her girlfriend. It was Christian that looked a little hesitant, standing up momentarily to everyone's shock, before grabbing another piece of pizza and dropping back into his seat. The seven of them weren't likely to admit it, but they all sighed an internal sigh of relief.

"I guess I'll have to call Annie and let her know I might not be home tonight, eh?" he said casually.

"Yeah, tell her it's my fault," said Leon, around a mouthful of Vegemite pizza. "I've got some good news and I've got some bad news. I've got a few more leads for you to check out."

They all groaned. "When Josh decided to make a speech, I'm pretty sure that he didn't mean chase more leads," muttered Michael.

"When I say 'check out', I really mean 'raid', 'storm'...'go in guns a'blazing'." With everyone's attention, he continued with an infamous grin. "Audrey and I have been going over some rather restricted financial records and have discovered that several properties Buczek owns have only recently regained power. As in, the last six months, while others have lost all but minimal power."

"How many properties?" Josh asked.

"Ah, that's the bad news. Just over half a dozen," Leon said.

"You think that he would have taken Stella to one these...eight...properties?" Shannon said, lists of the houses, apartments, warehouses, and dock slips at the marina and shipping yards in Buczek's name ran through her head.

"Nine, but yes."

"We can't raid them all," she blurted out. Leon became a little deflated, having been proud of himself and Audrey for spotting the discrepancies.

"Why not?" Audrey whispered. Shannon was kind of scary, so getting on the woman's bad side was definitely not an option for her.

"One, we don't have enough people to raid them all simultaneously, and two, once Buczek or Connor catches wind of what we're doing he'll either move her or..." Shannon looked down, trailing off and not wanting to say the words.

"Oh."

Shannon spoke after a few beats of silence. "We need to sit down and figure out where she is." She was met with a few odd looks, while others such as Michael just seemed angry at the idea of not searching for her physically. "Hear me out. We have no real plan. For the last two days we have just been running at anything that moves. We have no idea where Stella is because we're not thinking. Isn't that part of the reason we're in this squad in the first place?"

"Well what do you suggest?" Lawson asked. He was willing to let her explain her theories and ideas, possibly even support one that was a little out there.

Shannon stood from her seat and disappeared into the locker room, making noise as she pulled the metal door of her locker open, to show the others that she hadn't just walked out in the middle of a conversation, pulled out her notepad and walked back to the table briskly. She dropped it onto the table in front of Lawson and Kerry.

"If we want to find her," she said, pointing to Frank's name in her diagram, "we need to talk to him. He's the one that connects this all, but we haven't been able to go after him. Frank goes down with or without ESD's permission."

Lawson flicked through the pages of lists behind the diagram. "Been at this a while have ya?" Each page was divided into two, with an address at the top of each section and the same basic and particular information for each one scribbled down in black ink. Power and water usage, how often each property is used, what it is used for, who uses it the most, phone lines and numbers.

"I haven't slept in two days, like everyone else here, Lawson. So don't second guess my judgment on this."

"She has a point," said Josh, sliding the pad out from underneath Lawson's prying fingertips to inspect the mind map.

Kerry snatched it from him to take a look for herself, and raiser her eyes to see everyone practically on the edge of their seats. This was the most progress they had made in forty-eight hours. The map itself was detailed enough to outline everything that needed to convince the Inspector.

"And what if you can't find him? Or he doesn't talk to you?"

"We have ESD arrest him," she deadpanned.

"Gear up. There is a good chance he will put up a fight," Kerry said, ripping off the map and handing the pad of lists to Leon to go over. Shannon was held back from following the boys and Audrey, up to the offices to get a quick look at the specs for Frank's house, by a stern and frightful glare from Kerry. "You are staying here."

"No." Her answer came back to quickly.

"It wasn't a question or an offhanded comment, Shannon. You are staying. End of story." Her boss left her standing there in the kitchen, her notes and any connection she had with finding Stella had been forcibly cut, and she didn't know when they would be tied again. Kerry came back after a few seconds, as if the temporary distance between herself and Shannon would help her to quickly sort out a next sentence. Apparently she wasn't able to form one because her shoes scuffed against the concrete and she was back up in the direction of the team.

Shannon's chest felt as if it gave way, and a closed fist met the top of the wooden table in a fit of rage. Kerry didn't look back as she left, not even at the slight cracking sound of one of Shannon's knuckles.

Josh came out with a bulletproof piece on under his TR vest, and hauling one of the restocked black duffel bags, to see her nursing her hand, faint bruising visible over the growing swelling. "What is it with the two of you punching things?" He had a quick look at her knuckles and acknowledged the hiss that was exhaled when he stretched her fingers.

"We were both angry."

"At what?"

"Frank."

Everything officially fell into place in Josh's mind about the relationship between Shannon and Stella. The flash of pain across the face of the woman in front of him made the Senior Sergeant think twice of asking her about it. But he did make a mental note to chase Stella up for the fifty bucks he had used as incentive to get Stella to ask the older woman out.

"You not coming?" he asked, ending a brief hug he had initiated, the boys coming out with the rest of the bags.

No one was arguing over who got to drive.

"Nah. Not allowed too. Kerry says I'm too sleep deprived, and she wants me to go over my notes with Leon," she lied easily.

For once, Shannon just wanted to be able to blurt out the truth; she had been prohibited from going to see and possibly arresting Frank Dagostino because she was dating the guys little sister who was now missing, leaving her to be emotionally fragile or vulnerable. But she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to put Michael on edge and probably cause a rage riot.

"Alright. Get some sleep if you can," he said.

"I doubt it."

With that, both of the TR four wheel drives were speeding out of the car park and leaving her behind to do nothing but wait. The importance of Leon needing her to explain how she'd written everything out, compared everything she could find, seemed rather small compared to her longing to be out in the cars doing the physical work to keep her mind occupied. Audrey came out to find her and grab another couple slices of now cold take out for Leon.

"Shannon?" she asked. It took a second for the police officer to take notice of the woman standing beside her.

"Hmm?"

"Leon wants you up at the computers. He says he can't read your handwriting."

Shannon nodded, pinched a piece of food from the plate and disappeared up into the office, passing Kerry arguing on her phone again. She guessed that it was ESD on the other end of the call, and that Kerry was giving them a courtesy call to inform them of the change. The whole situation was really beginning to wear down the team, picking at each member in a different way as they searched relentlessly. Grabbing the first chair she could find, Shannon dropped into it next to Leon and took the manifest she had created, feeding him copious amounts of information through a mouthful of food.

They posted the notes on the screen, and then along with Kerry, crossed off the possible locations until they were left with only one. But that was as unlikely as the rest of them, leaving them at square one.

"Alright, this is ridiculous," Shannon muttered. "We aren't getting anywhere."

"Hey, this was your idea," Leon yawned, pushing Shannon's chair to the side so he could dig out another energy drink. Audrey came back from her second coffee run in a half an hour, and they still had yet to hear back from the boys.

"I know. We have to be looking at this the wrong way."

"Start from scratch with the information you already have," Kerry yelled from her office, causing all three people sitting at the computers to turn their heads in her direction. She headed out into the bullpen area and dropped the mind map onto the desk in front of Shannon, before turning around and heading back into her office. The three of them sat there contemplating ideas in their minds.

"Hey Leon," Audrey said.

"You don't have to raise your hand," he chuckled.

"What if we check Stella's case against others tied to Buczek."

"What do you mean?" Shannon asked.

"Well, the fact that we haven't heard anything has to be a part of the method of operation for Buczek's men. Maybe there is something similar between this instance and another one. Maybe a common person between missing people and known Russian Mob associates?"

"That's a good idea, actually," Shannon agreed, ideas popping into her head while she twisted her seat back around to face the screens. Leon had beaten her to the conclusion and was already fiddling with his keyboard. "Can you cross reference any cases that are related Buczek and his immediate associates and employees, and missing persons cases that have mob ties?"

"Going back how far?" he asked, already filling out the search engine requirements with a practiced skill.

"Two years," she answered. "That will cover the time frame that Frank had been getting investigated. If that doesn't do it, go back five."

"Alright this will take a few minutes," he explained. "Audrey, you take the five. I got the two."

The wait was a slightly anxious and silent one; Shannon bit her nails, trimming them even more than really necessary. Leon and Audrey were making the only noise, above the hum of the lights and the occasional bang of a door in the distance, as he tilted back and forth in his worn recliner on wheels until Shannon's hand clipped him across the back of the head. He paused in his movements, both on the keyboard and with his rocking, to turn and look her with a flash of rhetorical pain.

"Keep going," she ordered, giving a gentle shove to his shoulder.

A playful grin told her that he was only feigning seriousness. Shannon was thankful for the distraction, the moments reprieve from the emotionally draining time they had found themselves in. As Leon began getting closer to finding his results, he and Audrey had started throwing back comments and jibs at each other's technology techniques, Shannon turned her seat with impatience and took in the dim atmosphere of the bases main office hub.

The lights were dark and the few people who were still hanging around were attempting to throw themselves into anything that may prove useful just to avoid the wrath of an angry Inspector Kerry Vincent. Some of them were double and triple checking alibi's and current whereabouts for certain persons of interest. It was definitely reflective of how everyone was feeling. All except Shannon's, who became so much worse when she spotted two visitors being directed into Kerry's officer by a younger office.

She had been turning in her seat, to try and find a way of keeping herself from going a little stir crazy, even if it was only over a few minutes, when her gaze fell upon Nik and Nina Dagostino walking into the hub looked scared and hesitant about their presence there. Kerry had announced the day after Stella had gone missing; the TR team had been hopeful to find her sooner rather than later. When Kerry had finally been able to get a hold of them, thankful that they had missed the evening news, they had promised to get down as soon as possible after they had sorted out their immediate affairs and called her brothers. The Inspector had avoided mentioning Frank's involvement in their daughter's disappearance when they talked.

Nik caught Shannon's eye, and offered a small wave, only to be ignored when the woman turned away with an amount of guilt falling onto her shoulders again. Nina had noticed the small exchange and only clutched her handbag to her body tighter, gripping her husband's elbow for comfort. Shannon couldn't bear to face her girlfriend's parents, people she had become rather fond of since they had first met. Even though she was well aware that Stella having gone missing was no more her fault that it was Santa Claus's, it didn't stop any kind of shame or guilt or fear from resonating within the pit of her stomach.

Kerry threw Shannon a look, when the woman turned around at the heavy feeling of stares boring into the back of her head. Her bosses expression was questioning, wanting to know why Shannon would ignore Nina and Nikolai when less that forty-eight hours before, she had been almost adamant that she was the one to call them and explain everything to them.

Shannon wished that ignoring the sinking feeling coming from their presence was as easy as pushing the 'ignore call' button on her phone. Nine times since her girlfriend's parents had found out that their daughter was missing, she had pressed that button when Oskar's name had popped up on the caller id of her phone. It was hard to tell what was harder; facing the parents or talking to the favourite brother.

She looked away with a smear of humiliation when there were several beeps resonated from Leon's computer. Her head whipped up, scanning the screens and having a bare minimum understanding of the information staring back at her. She was thankful for the distraction from the two people talking with Kerry, because it gave her hope and another starting point.

"What's going on?" she asked, still trying to understand it all as screens changed and three mugshots came up. She recognised only one name out of the three.

"Three people are common persons over the last two years connected to missing persons. All low life's with minor charges for everything you can list off the top of your head. Jax 'Jackhammer' Dakin, Ross Mitchell, and Gary 'Gaz' Ryan. Why does that name ring a bell?"

"TR was trailing him a few years ago, Stella lost him in the Vic market. And then we busted Udinov beating the crap out of him last week," Shannon explained. She didn't waste any time in jumping from her seat. "We need to talk to him."

Almost all of the walls and panels in the doors were made of glass, with the exception of bathroom and toilet doors. The kitchen itself didn't even have walls or a door. There was very little privacy throughout the base, and occasionally it wasn't always a good thing; Shannon could see right into Kerry's office when she knocked rapidly on the door to get her boss's attention. Looking through the glass, as the blinds had been pulled on the rest of the office walls, she took in Nina sobbing as Nik attempted to console her while Kerry watched on helplessly.

Nik turned in his seat at the rattle of the glass. Shannon couldn't help but look into his eyes as she waved at Kerry insistently to join her outside of the office. The eyes that were exactly the same colour as Stella's were filled with pure fear. It scared her a little, and she had to look away to continue waving Kerry out.

"What?" the Inspector asked.

"We need to talk to Gary Ryan."

"Why?"

"Missing person's cases over the last two years that have connections to Buczek or any of his men. He is involved as a person of interest for questioning about the cases. He might know something about where Stella is," she whispered, not wanting the visitors to overhear her.

"Alright, get in touch with the boys, find out where they are. Then have Lawson go and talk to Ryan."

"I can do it. I can take your car and go pick him up."

"No," Kerry deadpanned. Her face was covered with her stern expression. "You're too close and Leon and Audrey are still going over your notes to open up any other leads. You stay here. Tell Lawson to go and talk to Ryan. Now if you will excuse me, I have to try and explain this whole thing to Stella's parents."

"Have you mentioned Frank yet?" she lowered her voice a few more octaves. Her boss's eyes narrowed at the question. "I mean, it's gonna break their hearts."

"Yeah, and if we don't get Stella back alive, it's going to be ten times worse," Kerry growled. "No I haven't told them."

"What have you told them? Just so I don't mess up your story."

"You have the worst timing for this, Shannon," Kerry whispered. "I told them what we told the boys. Now go and do what you've been tasked to do before I fire you."

"You fired Josh once," Shannon commented, throwing one last glance at Nina and Nik.

"And?"

"He's still here." Shannon walked away, grabbing the first phone she came across. Kerry had to admit to herself that the Senior Sergeant, while she was out of line in talking to her superior in the manner that she did, did have a point.

Shannon dropped into the seat behind the desk with more force than necessary, desperate to feel something more than anger and fear. Punching the table in the kitchen or the door of her locker again sounded like a reasonable idea at the time, as Lawson answered her call and she jumped into explaining the logic behind her choice. It wasn't hard to convince him to pick up Ryan, but at the same time he wasn't entirely sure that leaving Josh in charge of 'talking' to Frank with Michael as his secondary was the best choice in the world.

The boys of Tactical Response were still a few minutes off from Frank's house; the traffic was unusually heavy for the weekday, after eight time slot when it was regularly a lot emptier. Shannon had yelled out to Leon to get a fix on Ryan's last known location, and to send it through to TR2's computer. She scribbled 'Gary Ryan' onto her map, circling the name and connecting it to Frank's and Udinov's. Every name on the page had a title written underneath in a smaller size; 'Mob boss', 'head of security', 'dirty', and 'thug'. Very slowly, Stella's name was printed in the black ink at the bottom of the bottom of the page. It was written with extreme care and punctuality she had used to write her girlfriends name. Underneath, printed in the exact same script was 'innocent'.

She spent all of five minutes tracing the lettering she had printed with the tip of her pen, having ended the call with Lawson, until Kerry's head popped out of her office and asked her to take Nikolai to the kitchen to make some tea for his wife. With obvious resentment towards her boss, Shannon hesitantly agreed.

"Follow me, please," she said politely, taking the lead out of the offices and into the vastness that was the garage and kitchen.

Shannon directed Nikolai to the cupboards each with the mug, teabags and grabbed the milk from the fridge, remembering how the woman took her tea. Together, they sat in awkward silence as they waited for the kettle to boil. She was sitting in one of the old chairs at the table, arms crossed with her elbows leaning heavily on the wooden top. Nik had adopted the same pose against the corner of the counter, between the fridge and the mugs that had been set out.

"Why have you been ignoring us?" He asked quietly, knowing full well that his daughters relationship with the woman in front of him was strictly prohibited within the team and that besides the boss no one knew about it. There was nothing accusing in his tone, simply curious. It was a common theme that had developed between herself and Stella.

"The night after your party, you made me swear that I would do my best to look after your only daughter," Shannon explained, moving to pick at her fingernails and glance at the man sneakily with her head still bent. "You know how much she means to me, and I know how much she means to you. But I still broke that promise, Nikolai. I can barely look you in the eye right now."

Most of what she was saying was true; he had made Shannon swear to look after Stella in every way that she possibly could, to take care of her when she was sick or hurt, to love her always. But it wasn't the reasoning behind her inability to meet his silvery eyes entirely. She knew what he didn't, the real reason as to why they were all in this position in the first place. Shannon knew that Nina would probably accuse Kerry of setting something up, in between sobs, and Nikolai would be too angry to speak to even consider that most of the blame, if not all of it, was on their second son's shoulders.

"Shannon, this is not your fault," he stressed, taking a seat in the chair adjacent to Shannon, his hands covering her own.

"Then why does it feel like it?" she asked. "I was there, I told her to go that way and to take a goddamn cocky rookie with her."

"From what I've been told by the Inspector, this was planned." He patted her hands, and looked at her, almost right through her and explained as honestly as he could. "Shannon, Nina and I do not blame you. We hold you in no way responsible for what is happening. Do you understand me?"

_'If only you knew,'_ Shannon thought. "Yes."

"I know you and your team are going to do everything you can do to get her back alive," he said, his voice confident and sure. "So please, do not feel sorry do yourself, but proud, knowing that you are doing everything you can."

"Is that what this feeling is?"

"No." They shared a simultaneous tear slipping down each of their cheeks.

"How do I get rid of it?" she asked.

"You remember the good times, keep yourself focused on what you are trying to achieve. You bring my daughter home."

Shannon nodded, wiped her tears and watched Nikolai make his two cups of tea before heading back to Kerry's office with a kind smile. She was left at the table, red-eyed and scared, but attempted to do what Nik had asked by remembering the good times. She came up empty as the permanently good was overwhelmed by the darkness of the current situation. The shakiness that had been evident in the older man's voice when they had first begun their conversation, rang out in her mind, showing just how scared he actually was. It was another trait Stella had managed to pick up from her father.

She was in the kitchen for close to half an hour before anything drew her attention away from the images of herself and her girlfriend on her phone. Leon was jogging out into the garage to get her. After the initial darkness invading her mind, Shannon had pulled the device from her vest pocket, still yet to take it off and replace it into her locker. She wanted to be ready to out at a moment's notice. Picture after picture slid past, some faster than others as she studied each one carefully; some from their trip to Bendigo, some from the beach, a lot of pictures from the comfort of their beds. Every time Shannon went through the contents of the images folder, her favourite picture changed every time.

"What have you got?" she asked, quickly locking the screen of her phone and tucking it back into her vest.

"Frank's been arrested because he wouldn't cooperate, he's on his way to ESD holding now. Saw Lawson and Michael coming and tried to slip out the back. Trying to jump over a backyard fence doesn't quite work when you are wearing suit pants, and Josh and Christian are bringing Gary Ryan to us now. Apparently Frank was already trying to get a head start, his car was packed to brim."

Shannon nodded in her understanding, taking a deep breath as she added the new information to her collection. What she wouldn't give to be the one questioning both of them. What she wouldn't give to simply be a fly on the wall during those interrogations. Just like every other member of the team. "Have you told Kerry yet?"

"You think I'm stupid enough to go in to her office while Stel's parents are in there and say that Frank has been arrested? No way in hell. I mean, I love Stel and all. She's one of my best mates. I don't love her that much," he added with a side of his usual comedic timing and a goofy grin. He never failed to make her smile, even in the most difficult time.

She chuckled and agreed with his comment. "I guess it's up to me then?"

"Nah. I told Audrey to do it. Thought that she could do it with a little bit more tact."

"Alright, let's go see what the boss-lady has to say about that, shall we," Shannon said, letting Leon wrap her up in a gentle hug, dragging her up to the office playfully. It felt strangely relieving for a smile to be gracing her features rather than the more common frown that had made itself at home on her face.

* * *

She was hungry and sore and tired. Even in her dazed and confused state, in between drifting in and out of consciousness, Stella had managed to make several connections in her mind about what had happened. The pounding in the back of her head had eased but not by much, while the angle of her shoulders had created a tension that Stella had been unable to relieve. It had lead to a heavy throbbing and she was sure that there would be some permanent damage of some kind.

When she had first woken up the instinctual thing she had done, aside from panic, was try to escape from her binds. With the lack of light and her inability to see a mere five feet in front of her, made it more than just difficult for a tactically trained officer to determine if there was anything she could reach and could grab with her toes that may increase her chances. After the initial panic had worn off, her senses had gone on high alert, waiting for anyone or anything to jump out of the darkness.

Nothing came. Stella tried to stay awake as the night wore on, but with her head injury she found it hard to do so. She yelled and screamed for anyone that could get her out of there, but no one came to rescue her. Every so often she would be jerked out of the sleep she had fallen into by another loud, long lasting horn blaring in the distance. It didn't give her a definitive answer as to where she was, only increasing the severity of her headache.

As daylight had began to seep into her prison as the sun rose in the early summer morning hours before, she could finally make out a clear image of where she was being held. There had still been a limited abundance of light coming in due to the size of the vents, but the half dozen of them lining walls above her head and across the room from her gave her just enough to take in whatever she could see. The walls were largely corrugated and made of steel, patches of desert red appearing on the walls. Under each vent was a pipe running the eight feet from steel ceiling to wooden floor; she was currently cuffed to the middle one on the east side. She knew this because the sun had spilt on to the walls almost directly opposite her. Another horn broke the cooling air and it finally dawned on Stella when the sound of low breaking waves met her ears as well.

She had been stashed in a shipping container.

Or at least she hoped she had only been stashed temporarily. She couldn't believe that she hadn't figured it out earlier, from the seagulls cawing overhead and the smell of the salty sea water. It wouldn't be very comfortable for her if she was going to be kept there indefinitely. Another wave of fear ran through her as ideas of her death came to the forefront of her mind; starvation from her captors 'forgetting' to feed her, sickness from the low and wet weather conditions, infections as a result of her lowered immune system.

Then her anxiety began to sink in. What if she never saw her parents again? What if Oskar never got to pull another prank on her and she never got to meet the newest member of the Dagostino clan? The most ill-timed laugh sprang from the back of her throat at the thought of the kid being named after her as a tribute if she didn't make it out of this alive. Stella's emotions were on a rollercoaster ride at the moment, going from fearful and anxious to comical and back again. If she wanted to, Stella was pretty sure that she could just blame the dehydration and starvation for the negative thoughts.

Shannon jumped into her mind when she groaned, aiming for any king of relief on the pulling in her shoulders. Every inch of her girlfriends pale skin played on in her mind as clearly as if she was seeing the woman she loved right in front of her. The crook of her elbow, _that spot_ on her neck, the valley between her breasts, the way the muscles in her back shifted beneath her hands when Stella was lifted onto the bench; these images ran through her memory as slowly as she could manage, trying to recreate every little detail in hopes of taking up as much time as possible.

The necklace. If she could have brought the palm of her hand up to her forehead, she would have. In the two days she had been sitting there against her will, stomach tightening with painful cramps, her mouth growing dryer by the minute, the brunette had completely forgotten about the thin silver chain hanging around her neck. It was early evening and she was grateful for daylight savings. It was hidden beneath her standard navy blue work t-shirt and the chain itself tickled the back of her neck, moving the strands of hair that had come free during her kidnapping. There was a large sigh of relief leaving her lungs. A tear slipped down her cheek at the sudden increase in pain shooting through her body, emanating from her shoulders. Breathing became deep and deliberate in a rapidly failing attempt to keep her emotions in check and get the pain under control.

The moment she heard it, any attention that was focused on her breathing and the pain was gone. There it was again. A padded thwack and a few seconds later, the sound of a van door sliding open. There was someone there, outside the container she was in. She hadn't heard the vehicle pull up directly outside the doors of the

"Help!" she yelled, the plea cracking with her effort. Her voice had grown weak at the lack of talking and increased dehydration. "Please! I'm in here! Help!"

Boots shuffling along on the concrete and bitumen outside stopped to listen more closely. "Please, help me!"

A gruff voice spoke in waves as the sound made its way into the container through the vents. "Come on, in here." The voice wasn't familiar, so there was no way that it could be her colleagues. They would be moving faster than what the people outside were if it was TR.

Stella strained her ears in an attempt to figure out how many people there were outside; one had called out the instruction so that made at least two people and from the sound of the sliding door on the vehicle another two at the most. She hoped for dock personnel, security guards, anything other than the people responsible for leaving her here.

"Help!"

"Shut up, would ya?" came back at her, a strict and angry order. It wasn't the first man that had talked, but another, probably his second in command.

There would be no rescue for her from the shipping container. A rattle of keys and the twisting of a padlock led to the heavy doors to being opened, the thick hinges screeching with forced effort. Stella had to close her eyes and turn away at the sudden intrusion of light entering the interior of the container. With half open eyes, no way to shield them and another growing headache, she managed to spot three men forming the perfect triangle at the opening, the leader of the trio at the front.

"Well, well, well. You're awake," he commented. Stella was already intimidated without him having to use words. He walked across the pine wood floor, to squat down on her right side so she didn't have to look at him through the sunlight. This man was a beefy guy, his stocky build making him look meaner than either possible or necessary. "How long have you been yelling for help? No need to get all shy on me Officer."

"Senior Constable," she replied, out of pure habit of having to correct people when they talked to her. A cracking sound echoed to the end of the container and back. One of the lackeys had cracked his knuckles menacingly, causing Stella to gulp and conclude that being cocky over compliant was not a good idea.

They shared a deep laugh at her cockiness, before a hand snapped out and struck her across the face hard enough to turn her head. The two men standing at the opening, chuckled at the movement.

"Excuse me?"

She had already defied any initial authority this man had, there was no reason to stop now. "Senior Constable, not Officer."

"You're a pig, like I really care. Do you see this boys?" he asked, standing with a grin and a jab in Stella's direction. She could hear the pleasure in his voice.

"What's that Blackie?" one of them said.

"The pig who is tied up thinks she has the right to correct me," Blackie laughed. Her cheek throbbed strongly, just like her shoulders. "Now answer properly. How long have you been screaming for help?"

Stella gulped and raised her head. Raised her head, but not her gaze. "When I first heard the car."

"Which car?" Blackie demanded.

"Yours, just now."

"Now that's better. And no one got hurt this time," he smirked.

Stella looked up to take in the figure of the man called Blackie. While he was stocky, it appeared to be more muscle than fat. He was going bald but not quite there. The choice in clothing suggested that he was a hands-on worker for Buczek, rather than one involved in the business discussions; a leather jacket similar to Udinov's, jeans and runners. The boys at the end were wearing the same thing, with the exception of AFL team windbreakers over a leather jacket.

"What do you want with me?" she asked quietly.

"Oh I'm just the middle man here. I carry out the specific instructions before delivering the merchandise to a previously disclosed venue."

"You know, if this comes back onto you, you're going to be in a heap of shit right? Buczek won't protect you from the people who come after you." He looked down on her with anger for being called out and threatened openly in the way that she had. "All of you will."

"Nah. Your big brother will just get us off," Blackie laughed. Stella never felt guilty about resenting Frank for putting her here. In her mind, he was fully responsible for anything that happened to her. Blackie checked his watch. "Time to go, boys."

"Go where?" Stella asked, growing nervous when the two unidentified men advanced on her. One of them threw the key to her cuffs into the air.

"Get her in the van," Blackie instructed, walking back out to the car. "Quietly."

"No," Stella begged.

As soon as the cuffs had been removed from her wrists, the instinctual thing for Stella to do was struggle and fight has hard as she could. The lack of food and energy and increased fatigue wasn't going to stop her. She needed to get free, and to get as far away from the men as she possibly could. Although a well-aimed fist connecting with her skull was sure to stop her.

She was wet, almost from head to toe, when she woke up, and there was a piece of cloth keeping her quiet. There was no way for her to tell how much time had passed, or how much distance had been covered since Bluey...no, Blackie and his boys had taken her from the shipping container. It was too familiar to the first time she had woken up. There were only two differences; one, her hands were cuffed to the arms of a chair, and two, she wasn't alone. She could feel eyes boring into the side of her head.

The initial shock had worn off, leaving her shivering coldly in the middle of a parking garage, or warehouse, she couldn't quite tell. The pain settled back into her body and into her mind.

"It's about time you woke up," her company said. Stella looked up to her left, and saw Connor Barry beginning to eat a sandwich. She openly grimaced at the sight of the food on the table, despite how hungry she actually was. "I thought you'd be hungry Stella. Got you a sandwich."

He had nodded into the shadows behind her, and the gag in her mouth was removed. "No, thanks."

"So you're not hungry?" he asked.

"More like the sight of _you_ eating makes me sick," she sneered, momentarily struggling with her bindings again. The skin beneath the metal was raw and painful.

He waved off who ever had removed the gag, as they had made their way to silence her for back chatting.

"Nice to see you still have your sense of humour," he smiled.

"That wasn't me trying to be funny, that was me being serious." Her cuffs rattled against the metal of the chair. "Fuck! What do you want with me? Huh? You said Frank had a week."

"And you didn't give him that message for me, did you?" he asked. Connor had left the table and chair to stand in front of her, hands buried into the pockets of his expensive Italian suit. "Well, we've hit a bit of a snag to be honest."

"What's kind of snag, you cocky bastard?" He had to wave off the lackey behind her. He had always been nice and polite, and from what she could tell unable to hurt a fly. Sure he had tried to go at it with Josh in the street, but there was no way he would have won unless he had help. In her mind, he was nothing but a little boy playing dress ups. It was everyone else she had to worry about.

"Now if you keep using that tone, things are only going to go worse for you. I'm happy to feed you, give you something to drink during your stay with us."

"Nice sales pitch, but you're not a damn hotel service. You're fucking Mob, Connor," she spat. "What is the damn problem?"

He waved a finger, and a burly man came to stop in front of her. Without warning, his hand came out of nowhere, snapping her head to the side again. Stella swore that she could see stars that the strength of the blow.

"ESD are the cops who investigate cops right?" he asked, as though nothing had happened. Through his questioning, Connor had remained completely calm and unaggressive. He was in complete control of the situation in its entirety.

"You know that."

"Well, you see, Tactical Response resorted to the last option they had and went to talk to your brother. He was trying to do a runner from all of us, so they arrested him and handed him off to ESD earlier today." Connor rocked back on his heels, before beginning to pace no more than ten paces in front of Stella. "Now, even though I have my connections, while ESD has him I can't touch him so we had to mount a little rescue mission."

Stella's face dropped. "What did you do?"

"You see my beef isn't with you Stella. I got nothing against you as a matter of fact. Never have. My beef is with your brother." With a look over his shoulder, Frank was dragged out of the darkness and dropped into an empty chair ten feet in front of her, bloody and bruised. "Our methods of gaining ...let's say...'custody' of him, may have been a little brash."

"You've got him, what do you need me for?" she asked, already fearing the answer.

Connor shrugged and smiled nonchalantly. "Motivation."

* * *

**It's getting a little hairy wouldn't you say?**


	28. The Ongoing Investigation

**I told you the next one would be up on Christmas Day didn't I? Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Mappy Christmukkah. I spent 8 hours today in an elf hat working in a video store for a sunday rate, rather than a penalty rate because some arsehole decided that the public holiday is on tuesday! Fuck you!**

**In A Rush - I didn't get your hopes up did i? You also have to help me finish picking those names too!**

**Carla-Leigh - the torture scene is quite short, only cause I don't know how to write one and I didn't want to think about Stella getting wailed on for too long.**

**keelzz64 - here you go.**

**Happy Hereford - you've said that about the last three chapters at least.**

**K - can't doo much when he's tied to a chair.**

**Enjoy, I'm going to bed to listen to the thunderstorm**

* * *

"We got a problem," Leon said, from his seat, not turning as his fingers flittered across his keyboard with speed and accuracy.

Shannon had only arrived back into the bullpen area no more than ten minutes before, having taken off her vest and replaced it in her locker. It had become evident that there was a very little chance she would be leaving the base anytime soon. She looked up from her pad of notes she had been going through and comparing with an official file Leon had printed off, to see a small flashing in the corner of the centre screen. Audrey had already shifted to look of his shoulder, taking in the facts before Shannon even understood what was happening.

"What's going on?" she asked, dropping everything in her hands as the Intelligence Officer typed as fast as he could to get a sufficient and satisfactory amount of answers for Shannon, and soon Kerry.

"There has been an accident on the corner of Wilson and Durham Roads in Albert Park."

"Why is that our problem, we're off the clock for everything until we get Stella back," Shannon reminded him.

She watched as he threw a glance over his shoulder to Kerry's office to double check that the door was still closed. "It was the ESD vehicle escorting Frank back to their main offices. Josh is in the car for a ride along so we, Tactical Response, know where they are. Michael is following on street parallel to Durham."

"Alright, get the ambo's down there. See if you can get any traffic cams, keep it off the big screen and call Michael and tell him to get his arse over there," Shannon ordered. Looks like it was back to business for her as she walked with a purpose to the boss's office again.

"You're not going to tell Kerry?" he questioned, continuing his rapid typing regardless of her answer.

"Let's see what we've got first. It could just be a simple car accident." Shannon grimaced at her own words, realising how hopeful and desperate they were. She wanted to beat the crap out of Frank, even with his parents in the room behind her, and not let any of his injuries be the result of someone else doing it. There was a incessant nag in the back of her mind, that there was a chance that this was all planned; if it was, there would be another layer dropped on top of an already complicated situation.

"Josh's camera is offline, and I can't get him on the radio. What if this was the plan?" Leon asked. "What if this was set up to stop Frank from squealing on Buczek or Connor?"

She ignored his question and kept her eye on the screens, looking for the street camera footage. Easily, Shannon slipped on a spare ear piece that must have been Kerry's left behind. Taking the Inspector's usual place behind Leon, it gave her the chance to block out most of the images on the screen from the occupants of the office.

"Josh? Josh, are you there?" Shannon requested. "Sergeant Joshua, please respond!"

"You're not going to get anything," Leon said quietly, looking at her over his shoulder with an entirely innocent expression.

She glared at him in a very Kerry manner. "Have you tried the car radio, or their phones?"

He raised his eyebrows, but mostly kept quiet, aside from giving Audrey instructions. "You get the radio, I'll get the phones."

Shannon moved on while the two of them started to fulfil the tasks they had been given. "Michael, you need to head one block east of your position and double back. There's been an accident involving Josh's, uhh, vehicle. The ambo's are a few minutes off, but we can't raise Josh on his radio and we have no visual inside the car."

"You gonna fill in the boss-lady?" he asked.

"Can we wait until Michael gets there, please?" she replied at his impatience. "There is no need to panic completely yet okay? We don't know what's going on out there."

"Alright. But don't dump it on me to tell her," he jerked his thumb in the direction of Kerry's office, "about all of this. I think Audrey may need some counselling or something."

"Have you found the camera footage yet?" Shannon asked, deliberately ignoring the tech's comments. "Michael, are you there yet?"

"Just pulling up now. It's not pretty," came back though the radio a few seconds later.

"Leon, can you pull up his lapel camera?"

A moment later there was the shaky footage from Michael's chest of a car similar to Kerry's, the driver's side pushed in by the early model van modified to carry a bull-bar on the front. The screen was still relatively unfocused when Michael jogged to inspect the cars. While the van was missing both its driver and any possible passenger it may have had, it had sustained very little damage aside from the large crack in the windscreen.

"Josh?" came across their earpieces as he dashed around to check on the occupants of the car that had been carrying the ESD detectives, Josh and Frank. Due to the damage sustained on the driver's side, the Senior Constable had to yank open the back passenger side door just to check on everyone. Out of pure habit, Josh came first as he began to make sure that everyone was okay.

"Shannon, what's going on?" Lawson asked.

"There's been an accident, Michael's there now and he's waiting for the ambulance," Shannon replied automatically.

"Christian and I will head over there now. What was their last known?"

"You're still at least half an hour away, the base is closer so I'll go."

"Shannon," he started.

"Lawson, I'm not incapable here. Besides, you've got Gary Ryan, right? You can't leave him in the back of the car while you attend to MVA involving a colleague!"

"Fine," he answered, not interested in getting into an argument over the radios. "Just try not to fall asleep alright? How are Josh and the prisoner?"

"Still waiting for a sitrep from Michael, but from his lapel footage it appears to have been either a rescue mission or kidnapping. Josh is out cold, but the...prisoner...is currently MIA," Shannon explained, a small layer of guilt and shame coming to sit on her shoulders for the umpteenth time in two days. She felt like a junior officer having to explain to the commanding officer, or Kerry Vincent, what had gone wrong in a simple and almost full proof plan to collect two persons of interest. "Jamieson was driving, so he's out too, but the other one is already coming around."

"Alright, keep my informed. Let Kerry know we're on our way with Gary Ryan."

"Sure," Shannon agreed, ending their conversation. Leon turned around slowly, ready to say something about how she still had to tell Kerry. "Not. A. Word."

He shrugged and went back to his work, double checking his notes with Audrey's. Shannon sighed heavily and pulled the earpiece from her ear, resigning herself to the fact that she did still have to tell Kerry. And interrupt the meeting she was having with Nina and Nikolai. The older woman looked to have calmed down considerably, which gave Shannon a piece of relief.

Reluctantly, the Senior Sergeant dropped the earpiece onto Leon's desk and knocked politely on Kerry's office door, her head popping through the open doorjamb. "Kerry, can I have a word? We've had a situation develop out here," she explained, with an attempt to keep her expression neutral and not give away too much information. Shannon still didn't know how much Kerry had told them, and they had been there for a while.

"Is everything okay?" Nina asked, looking to Shannon desperately.

"No news about Stella, unfortunately. This is a separate incident," she tried to explain.

"How about you tell me what's going on?" Kerry asked, removing herself from behind her desk once again. "Excuse me for just a moment, please."

Kerry grabbed Shannon by the crook of her elbow, slid the door behind her and immediately questioned the senior officer hastily as to what the situation was that she was referring to. In hushed tones, the two of them exchanged words rapidly, before becoming involved in a small heated argument about whether or not Shannon was actually capable to head out to the accident site without falling asleep or getting emotional. Kerry eventually relented and handed over her car keys with an apt warning to be careful.

"And put your vest back on!" Kerry yelled down the hallway, just as Shannon walked right past the locker room. She shook her head and momentarily questioned her choice to let Shannon back out onto active duty. When she returned to her office, she was met with the questioningly worried looks from Stella's parents. "Like she said, a separate incident."

"What's going on? This team is family to Stella, so their wellbeing does concern us," Nikolai explained.

Now it was getting really complicated for Kerry, but thankfully, everyone else had the common sense to keep their mouths shut and not let something slip about Frank or Buczek. If they did, they would probably be looking for another job at Kerry's insistence.

"One of our Senior Sergeants, Brendan Joshua was in an unmarked car with a person of interest and two detectives from another division. That car was t-boned earlier, providing the opportunity for said person of interest to evade custody."

"Is Josh okay?" Nina asked in a quiet voice, only to be completely overwhelmed by her husband's accusingly heavier tone.

"Who was this person of interest that was in custody?"

"I'm sorry, but this is an ongoing investigation, I can't legally divulge any details of this case to you," Kerry apologised. "I'm sure you understand, Mister Dagostino."

"Now you listen here, I respect that you've showed us a level of hospitality and understanding given the current situation. But our only daughter is missing, and I demand some details!" This was the first sign of irrationality the man had shown since his arrival at the base. Kerry had to wonder what he had been like at home after she had broken the news to the parents over the phone.

"Nikolai," Nina whispered, her face still covered with tear tracks as she watched her husband unsurely.

"I am a police officer, and this is my daughter that is missing. I want to know what is going on, right now."

If this were anyone but the parents of one of her officers, Kerry would have raised a questioning eyebrow and silently challenged the man to continue before opening up one of her infamous and degrading rants to put him in his place. But seeing as it was the father of her missing officer, the Inspector decided to keep it to herself and try and more calming approach.

"Now, I understand your frustration-"

"Do you? We've been sitting here for over an hour and you've barely told us anything. As an officer of the Victorian Police force, I order you to tell me."

She nearly scoffed. Nearly. "I didn't want to behave like this, but I feel you've forced my hand. And please do not interrupt me. We are doing the best we can to find Stella, you know that more than anyone. Like you said, this is a part of Stella's family. But you are a retired police officer therefore you have no actual authority. On top of that, you retired as a Sergeant. I am an Inspector, so I would outrank you regardless. And as you know the procedures we follow within the police force, I cannot divulge any details of an ongoing investigation to civilians."

"We understand," Nina accepted, tugging on the jacket sleeve of Nikolai's coat. "Sweetheart, please sit down."

"You are keeping something from us," Nik accused, even though he had sat down per his wife's request.

"It's an ongoing investigation," Kerry reminded him, with her best 'do not even think of testing me right now' look. "Now if you would like me to arrange for a uniform to take you to a hotel to get some rest, I will do that, as well as keeping you informed of any important progressions in our search."

"We do not have any specific sleeping arrangements at this time."

"I can arrange that for you as well," Kerry answered calmly, before sticking her head out of her office and yelling at Leon. "Leon, I need a hotel room for Stella's parents. Something in the city, and make it a decent one this time."

"My kind of decent, or your kind of decent?" he asked.

Kerry rolled her eyes and glared at him. "Nothing over the top and no sleazebag motels like you got on that last informant case!"

"Gotcha!"

"ASAP, Leon!"

"I got just the place," he answered.

She turned on the first junior uniformed officer that walked past her office. "Simons!"

"Yes Inspector?" The young blonde, gangly man stopped in his tracks. He had heard the rumours around the base, about how Kerry Vincent could kill you with one of her infamous glares. Thankfully, he had yet to get on her bad side, and he was hoping to keep it that way until he decided to leave TR.

"When Leon has gotten a hotel for the Dagostino's, you are going to drive them there, make sure they get checked in and personally clear the room. You do not leave until you have done so, despite what either of them may say. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Inspector," he said, before scuttling off to fetch his weapon.

"It shouldn't be too long, and we'll get you off to a hotel," Kerry smiled at Nik and Nina. They both nodded in understanding.

"You run a tight ship," Nikolai pointed out, his voice full of respect for her. "That's good for the younger officers, teaches them to respect their superiors."

"Well, it helps when officers, such as your daughter, decide to spread rumours about me," she smiled fondly at the thoughts. "Something about me being able to kill anyone with one look."

Her comments had lightened the atmosphere in her office, both parents smiling at the small anecdote about Stella. It wasn't until Nikolai began shuffling around in his pockets for his phone, and asking his wife if she had it in her handbag.

"Our mobile phones are dead, do you mind if we use one of your office phones to call our sons?" Nikolai asked. Kerry internally grimaced.

Nina agreed with him. "I'm sure they would like an update."

"Seeing as your youngest son Frank is a detective in the city, he, along with at least one member of nearly every other division, has been made aware of what is going on. He is keeping his eye and ears open for anything that could help us find her."

"I'm sure he would still like to know about any progress you have made," Nina pushed.

There was no way that Kerry was going to get out of this unscathed. First she was going to kill Stella with one of her infamous glances. And then Frank. Even though she was sure that she would have to get in line for the second one, Kerry was sure that it would make her feel better in some way or another.

"I promise you that he is very well aware of any progress we make. I have a regular contact with his superior over at Major Crimes who informs him on our behalf."

Kerry hoped that that would be the end of that, that there would be very little questioning to the method that had supposedly been set up. In reality, Frank's superior was very well aware of ESD's investigation, seeing as TR had shown up earlier with the two ESD detectives looking into the middle Dagostino in their search for him. The man had put two and two together, coming up with a correct total of four, and requested a quick briefing. Having not being able to find him at the offices, they were directed to his house where Michael and Josh had had to chase him down through his own backyard to pin him against the back fence he was attempting to climb over desperately.

The last thing that Kerry wanted to tell them was that the two youngest Dagostino children were in the wind – Stella having been kidnapped and Frank just missing in general. As a result of her position within the Unit, Kerry had to assume the worst, that he had organised the whole thing to get himself out of the immediate situation. She didn't want to tell them, mainly because she had no idea how to explain it all, so she hid behind their civilian status.

Within ten minutes, they were gone, trailing behind Constable Simons out to the parking lot to head out to whatever hotel Leon had booked for them. The Inspector sighed and headed out to the bullpen to see what Leon and Audrey had managed to dig up regarding the new development. She picked up the earpiece Shannon had discarded earlier and immediately tried to contact the woman. In a way, Kerry was proud of Shannon for trying to keep it all together, for thinking outside the box even though she may or may have not gotten inside information from Stella when they were alone.

"Shannon, where are you?"

"Just pulled up," was the answer.

"How's Josh looking?"

"He's fighting with the ambulance officers about having to go to the hospital," Shannon smiled. "Jamieson left a few minutes ago. Heightmeyer has been checked and cleared, and he's already got theories."

"Tell Josh that he has to go. I want him checked before he gets back out on the road. We need him when we start looking for Frank."

"About that, Leon has a theory that he could hopefully share with the class," Shannon suggested, after ordered Josh to calm down and let the medical officers do their jobs.

"Tell me Heightmeyer's first," he argued, scanning back through the street camera footage to try and identify the driver of the van responsible for crashing into the ESD car.

"He has too many Leon. Spit it out already," Kerry warned.

"Are we the only ones listening on this channel?"

"If someone was listening in, they wouldn't admit it Leon," Michael growled. He had come to stand by Shannon's side to listen in. "Spit it out."

"Fine. What if the crash was made to look like an elaborate escape, when in actual reality it was a second kidnapping to stop him from squealing on any member of the Russian Mob?"

"Second kidnapping?" Kerry asked. "You think that it's Mob behind Frank's sudden disappearance as well?"

"It makes sense; he tries to skip town because he has a big debt to Buczek, they try to grab him but we get there first, so they do the next logical thing."

"Which is?" Shannon asked.

"They steal a car and crash it into an unmarked police vehicle, the very one that just happens to be carrying their target in it," Leon concluded, opening patting himself on the back in front of the two women surrounding his desk. "And yes, that car was stolen. Done checks on the owner, no mob ties, no priors, not even a parking ticket."

"So in other words, we have nothing here?" Shannon asked.

"Can you track Frank's mobile?" Michael asked.

The two of them looked at each other awkwardly. Shannon had always prided herself in being professional no matter what the situation was, even after she had begun her relationship with Stella, but given the desperate side to their current investigation and her girlfriend's past with Michael, even Shannon was questioning her ability to do the job with Michael as her only backup. She momentarily let her mind wander, imagining what would happen if they found Stella alive but Michael got to her first. At his curious look, she smiled and tuned in to what Leon was talking about.

"We have nothing there until Audrey and I manage to identify the driver and its definite passenger. I've already tracked his phone, it's at the scene with you guys."

Sharing another simultaneous look at each other, Michael and Shannon sprinted to now totalled ESD car to search for the phone. As Shannon crawled up and down the backseat, trying hard to avoid the blood from Josh's head wound, she noticed the several out of place items.

"Frank's belt is here, along with his shoes, his jacket," she told Michael, lifting said jacket up, hearing the phone tumble out and onto the floor before making a grab for it. She handed it to Michael who immediately began scrolling through messages and received called. "They don't want to risk any chance of us finding them. What have you got?"

"This," Michael said cryptically, before turning the phone around so Shannon could see the screen. There was a text message lighting up the glass in simple black and white fonts and backgrounds. 'Time's up.'

"This is ridiculous," Shannon said, before connecting herself to Leon. "Leon, we need you to trace a number for us."

"Sure. I have all the time in the world to trace a phone number, I'll just add it to my nonexistent list of ten million things I have to do at the moment, shall I?" he snapped sarcastically.

Shannon took his frustration as a sign to back off just a little, even though she raised an eyebrow at Michael. "When you can, please."

"Sure," he replied, his tone growing increasingly calmer.

"Alright, this is all forensics now." Shannon looked around, mentally checking off the traffic controller, and the uniforms keeping any developing crowds at a distance. "Let's head back to base. Lawson and Christian should be there with Gary Ryan by the time we get back."

"Alright," Michael agreed, heading back to TR2 as Shannon ducked back into Kerry's car and sped off without another glance in the rear view mirror.

Once again they were stuck at a dead end, but it still felt as if they had made or were making some sort of progress. Leon and Audrey were working to trace the origin of the text message, and the occupants of the van who crashed the stolen car into Josh, Frank and the ESD detectives. Lawson and Christian were bringing in Gary Ryan to 'have a chat' with the young and local felon. She had no doubt that when they got there, the entire interview room would be full with the field members of the Tactical Response Unit, Kerry and Lawson leading the interrogation.

By the time she had arrived back at the base, Michael had pulled in behind her and TR1 was already into the garage. The vehicle itself was empty of occupants, and the two of them could see Kerry stalking towards the staircase to head upstairs to the interview room. The room itself had been nicknamed 'the torture chamber' by the workers of the base, because Kerry was usually the one to interrogate people in there and she always got the answers she was looking for. Shannon wished that there were actual devices in there that she could use, but as she dwindled on it for a moment as she climbed the stairs behind Kerry, Shannon decided that she could make do with anything from the duffle bags, the strong box's in the cars and the armoury downstairs.

Christian was standing guard over Gary Ryan, as the young man sat handcuffed to the table in the centre of the room, looking around nervously. Lawson was watching him from just outside the doorway, waiting for Kerry and the others to join him before the questioning was started.

"He said anything?" Kerry asked.

"Not a word, except to say that he wanted a lawyer even though technically he didn't do anything wrong, illegal or immoral. He's adamant about that last part," Lawson explained, his gazed never leaving the terrified thug. "How do you want to play this?"

"Well I was thinking that we play it gently and by ear. _Technically _he hasn't been arrested for anything."

"So what? If he play's nice, we let him go?" Michael asked. "He could know where Stella is!"

"He hasn't got a definite clue where she is Michael," Shannon said. "And even if it was offered that we let him go after he tells us what we want to know, there's no guarantee that he'll take it. Probably want a bloody protective order or something."

"She's got a point," Lawson said, nodding his head off in Shannon's direction, somewhere to his left. "All of us in there?"

"Yeah," Kerry agreed, motioning for Shannon and Michael to follow herself and Lawson into the interrogation room.

The five officers stood there staring back just as quietly as Gary had done. With the odd's stacked five against one, it didn't take him long to crack. "Look I don't know anything about the missing cop, I swear."

"Well, that was easy," Shannon said, aiming to deliberately cut down any kind of manhood he thought he had. "Just imagine what kind of secrets he might spill if he was being tortured."

Kerry glared at her, silently telling her to shut up and let herself do the talking. Shannon held up her hands in a surrendering manner. "Here's the thing Gary. You're not actually under arrest."

"Then why am I in handcuffs?"

"You resisted arrest after you attempted to assault Christian because you flinched at the sight of a cop," Lawson explained. "Now if you tell us what we want to know, you can go back to doing whatever the hell it is that you usually do."

Gary scanned the group of them, wondering if it was a real offer or if they were just playing him. "What do you want to know?" he asked slowly.

"Alright, we know that you have connections to Vladimir Udinov, Connor Barry and Frank Dagostino. You've obviously heard about Senior Constable Dagostino going missing. We have it under good authority that you know a few secret locations for Anton's Buczek's boys," Kerry said. She was bending the truth slightly, but not enough so that he wouldn't believe her.

"What do you mean 'secret locations'?"

"If you have to ask, you don't know. Which means we can book you for the attempted assault of a police officer," Shannon threatened.

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm just trying to narrow your search area for you alright?" he replied.

"Have you narrowed it down enough yet?" she asked.

"Okay, I might have heard of...the kinds of things you might be looking for." Both Shannon and Michael sighed impatiently. If he could just name the place, they could find Stella. They were this close to finally finding her after two days. The two of them crossed their arms and glared at him for encouragement. "I'm about to dob on the biggest crime lord in Victoria. I want some guarantee that I'll get out of this alive."

"Either way you're screwed. They can get to you a whole hell of lot easier in prison though," Kerry suggested. "We might be able to make you disappear."

"Alright, I've nearly gotten myself into the same position and I know of a couple or so more people who have gone through the process," he started. "First they lock you up, and leave you there for a few days so you get weak. Maybe in an empty warehouse, a shipping container. Anyplace where you can't easily be found, unless someone was looking specifically. It helps to keep the heat off of them because they don't physically have you in their custody. Then they move you. Buczek's very own torture chamber is rumoured to be located in his house. But it's only a rumour. Then they hurt you until you give them what they want or until you die. Whichever comes first."

Shannon gulped as quietly as she could. It was hard to keep the images from flooding her mind, increasing the level of temptation she was having to seriously assault the restrained man in front of her. Looking to her right, she saw the exact same expressions on her colleague's faces with the exception of Kerry, who was steely eyed for interrogation.

"You know you're not being very helpful," Kerry said, as if his nonexistent security was on the line.

"Alright, jeez! She's being held at one of his properties!"

"We know that already," Michael commented as neutrally as he could.

"What about them?" Kerry interrupted. "We know he's holding her in one of them but the thing we want to know is which ones are the most likely candidates."

"Buczek owns the half a dozen or so houses across the street from his actual residence. He claims that his boys live there with their families, but none of them are married or have kids. He has his own little tunnel system down there, hidden rooms, stockpiles of weapons, drugs, supposedly he has his safe down there with all of his important business stuff in it. She could be fifteen feet directly below you and you would never know it. Those six houses are connected by underground tunnels that reach his main residence."

"You're serious?" Shannon asked, seriously doubting the Bogan for a moment, until it was the only scenario that made any kind of sense.

"Yeah. You're looking for the missing cop, and she's tied to Buczek somehow. It is highly likely that she will either be in one of those six houses or in the tunnels somewhere."

"We'll check into that," Kerry said, standing up from the chair she had sat down in when she first entered the interrogation room.

"Hey am I gonna get my protection?" he asked, gulping loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Depends if your information checks out or not," Kerry admitted. "I only said I _might _be able to make you disappear."

Gary's head dropped to the desk with a thump as the group filed out of the room one by one.

"How much of this is making sense to you?" Lawson asked Shannon as they made their way into the bullpen. Kerry disappeared into her office to call the hospital regarding Josh and Jamieson. Heightmeyer had left earlier to return to his own office to file an incident report with his superior, who was technically Jamieson but who was actually paying attention to that little fact?

"Let's see what Leon says first," she replied, shrugging nonchalantly but feeling the pressure to make something happen for them. "Then based on what he gives us, I might have something. What do you have Leon?"

"The driver of the van is Harry Meyers aka Blackie. The message to Frank also came from his phone."

"Why 'Blackie'?" Michael asked out of curiosity.

"Because he beats you till you're black and blue."

"Right," the Senior Constable offered, the unwanted image Blackie beating Stella till she was black and blue entering his mind. "What else you got?"

"I caught Blackie running a red light one block outside of the shipping yards not long after the vehicle was reported stolen, moving north away from them. The text was sent an hour after they left the shipping yards."

"Wait. Did you say shipping yards?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah..." he answered. "Why?"

"Shipping container," Shannon stated, pointing to the ceiling in reference to Gary Ryan upstairs. "Ryan said that was one of the places they could have used to hold her."

"Nice," said Michael. "Leon."

"On it," he said. "Cross checking known associates of Buczek including the man himself, with imports and exports large enough to need a shipping container. Well that's obvious," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What?"

"Buczek has ownership of a shipping container permanently stationed in the shipping yards. No one ever questions it because of his importations business."

"Can you get access to any cameras around that container?" Shannon asked, not believing their luck.

"I can but the footage is extremely grainy, it'll be hard to really see anything," Leon said. "Give me some time and I'll see if I can come up with anything."

"Stella's running out of said time," Shannon exclaimed.

"I'll work as fast I can."

"Thank you. In the mean time, Audrey can you go over financial statements again, see if anything relates back to major construction in, or on multiple properties at once, specifically close to his residence, that sort of thing?"

"On it," the blonde replied faintly, setting about her work.

"Let's go tell Kerry," Michael suggested, nodding in the direction of the Inspector's office and having Shannon agree almost immediately.

"Hang on, hang on. Wait," Lawson ordered.

"What?" Shannon asked breathlessly.

"Explain it to me so you don't make an arse out of yourself for being so gung-ho."

Shannon looked at him momentarily, trying to judge if he was being serious. She sighed. "Fine. If we take what Gary Ryan has just told us about the process they go through to interrogate someone, it means that she has been held somewhere, like an empty warehouse or a shipping container. Somewhere that isn't frequently visited. Buczek has a shipping container permanently sitting at yards. The exact same place he was seen leaving, running a red light in the process."

"Coincidence?" he asked.

"Nope!" Leon exclaimed. "I have a visual on Stella at the shipping yards with Blackie."

"I thought you said it was grainy footage," said Lawson.

"What can I say? I'm good," Leon replied. "They have absolutely no security on their feeds. Managed to clean it up pretty good. It's only rough and I can get it better but...there goes Blackie and two thugs."

"You said Stella was there."

"Wait for it. They enter, two minutes later the leave carrying a tied up and unconscious looking Stella."

"Can you track the van?"

Leon looked up them with a grimace and apologetic look. "Tried. Lost them in backstreets. Sorry. But at least we know he has her."

"Or had her," Michael said.

Shannon turned back to Lawson, happy with their sudden progress rather than their loss of Stella's location. "Do you believe our 'oh so crazy' theory now?"

"Doesn't sound like a theory anymore, does it?"

Shannon smiled as idea's came into her mind. "You tell Kerry, I'm just going to go over my notes again."

* * *

Both siblings looked up at Connor, fear and horror flashing across their faces. Frank was the first to speak. "Motivation, what do you mean motivation?"

"What do you think he means you idiot? That we're here for a fucking picnic?" Stella spat at her brother. She was livid at his stupidity when he had been the one to go looking for the trouble in the first place. Frank looked at her, fear growing in his eyes the more he looked at her.

"Blackie," Connor smirked.

Blackie came through a heavy door behind Frank, hidden by the darkness. When the door had initially opened, Stella had managed to get a quick glance out into the hallway and saw two armed guards standing against the concrete walls, in the dim lightening. She flinched at the loud bang at the door reverberating through her skull, the dull ache growing stronger under the focused light hanging above her head. There was nothing to give away her location, nothing she could use to contact the team or escape with.

"Now Blackie is a good friend of mine, and he's offered to help with the resolution of our little situation here." There was a beat of silence humming above them, along with the florescent lights. "Would the two of you like demonstration of what you're in for today?"

"No thanks," Stella said, waiting for the blow to happen.

Connor chuckled. "You make it sound like I'm giving you the choice."

Three seconds later it came, a sharp snap to the lace left Stella almost howling in pain. Blood was dripping from her nose as her chin rested against her chest. With the sudden addition of pain, her headache intensified at the insistence of the lights as she looked up to face her brother. He was watching silently, pale and shaking. If Stella was going to get beaten for his inability to payback his loan, they may as well have just killed her on the spot.

"I fink you roke my nose," she mumbled, spitting some copper tasting redness from her mouth and squeezing a few tears from her eyes. The bridge of her nose was settling with a dull throb and a constant stinging sensation. "Fuck!"

"Whoops," Blackie said sarcastically, before motioning to a man hidden in the shadows. From the noise that was made, Stella figured that it was the man responsible for removing her gag earlier. A small table was wheeled over to him, making an incessant rattling as it was positioned correctly. He played with the tools of his trade, making a show of waving them in Stella's direction to show her what he had planned. "What game do you want to play first?"

"How about 'let me go so I can kick your arse'?" Stella commented, spitting some more blood in his direction.

"That doesn't sound like much fun," came back to her in a sneering voice.

"I've got a better idea," Connor announced, smiling back and forth at everyone in the room. "Blackie and I have some separate business to discuss. How about you two loving siblings have a chat? See if you can come up with a plan or something? Okay? We'll come back later."

There was no objection from Blackie, who simply shrugged and followed Connor out into the hallway through the now open door. Any of Connor and Buczek's personnel filed out one by one until it was only the bloody sibling and the scared shitless one. A single guard was left in the room with Frank and Stella; they easily forgot that he was there due to the lack of light, and his habit of hiding in it.

"A fucking picnic, huh?" Frank asked.

"Oh totally," Stella mumbled again. The pain in her nose would flare up every time she spoke. "Connor has just gone to get the food and then we're gonna sit down here for a catch up with old friends."

"No need to get sarcastic there Stel."

Having grown up with Frank, Stella knew when her brother was using other emotions to mask his real feelings. It generally happened when he was scared or in trouble. It was happening as blood dripped from Stella's nose, her powerful glare matching Kerry's in ferocity.

"My life is on the line here Frank. I think I have a right to be angry and sarcastic to you, when you're the one who put me in this damn chair wherever we are, about to have the ever loving shit beaten out of me." He tried to talked, to throw back another comment, but the angry Stella wouldn't have any of it. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear your excuses that pathetically justify my death."

Stella tilted her head back, trying to get a metaphorical hold on the nose bleed, seeing as she couldn't physically clamp her nostrils shut. They sat in silence with the occasional crackle from a radio in the hallway, time passing slowly and without a watch or a clock, neither of them had an idea of the specific time.

"I'm sorry, Stella."

"Yeah, well, your apologies aren't exactly going to cut it at the moment. In case you haven't noticed, we're both cuffed to chairs because you screwed up."

"Why are you so angry?" he asked.

Stella looked at her brother in absolute disbelief. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yeah."

"You're a moron. You got in over your head and I get dragged in to it. I am your damn compensation. The encouragement or motivation needed for you for fix whatever it is that you did wrong." She shook her head, her attempt to wain off the pounding failing. "I tried to help you, but you said no."

"If I said yes, this probably would have just happened a lot sooner," Frank shamefully admitted.

"Great. Either way I'm dead," she huffed. "What did you even do? I would have helped you get out of the trouble, Frank."

"Do you have a hundred thousand dollars?" he spat.

Stella gaped at him. "How did you even get that far down in the hole?" Frank glared at her. "Oh come on, I think I deserve to know considering the position I am in here."

Frank sighed and accepted the fate that he had to tell his sister. "It started as simple payments, get his guys off the line, keep them out of the can where Major Crimes was concerned. After a year, I asked for a loan. A lump sum instead of little payments for each job. All I had to do was get enough of Buczek's boys out of trouble and we would be sweet."

"Obviously, you're not," Stella commented with the raise of one eyebrow. She grimaced at the uncomfortable tug at her nose, the cartilage and the muscles around it.

"He gave me a deadline. I thought I could reach it but these guys are getting smarter. I didn't need to do anything because they were getting themselves out of any legal situation with a cop. When I couldn't deliver on the goods, Connor came to demand that he take the money back. I couldn't give him that either."

"You spent most of it on the car, didn't you?" Frank nodded. "You're an idiot."

"I know!" he yelled. "Ever since I got into this mess and you found out, all I can hear in my mind is you taunting me because I screwed up. I'm sorry, okay!"

"You need to get that money."

"I don't know how to. There is no possible way for me to get a hundred grand at the moment. We've already got a second mortgage on the house. Annabeth's tuition fees for school and her pony club thing have skyrocketed. We bought a brand new late model car that cannot be returned to the dealership. Two of our credit cards are maxed out. I can't get the money. I'm not just swimming in debt with Buczek. The only difference between him and the banks is that he'll kill me for the money. The banks will just reposes and liquidate everything," Frank explained with desperation. "He won't get a cent, and everything will hit the fan either way."

"This is what you get for sending your brat the most expensive private school in the city!" Stella said.

"Annabeth is not a brat," Frank yelled back.

"Please," Stella scoffed. "She's exactly like her mother. Too good for anything less than five hundred dollars."

"That's not true."

"Don't get me started on _her_ daughter," said Stella. As they came back to the reason they were both handcuffed to steel chairs, in a location they couldn't identify. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. To me, my daughter is the perfect child."

"Not with Annabeth, you idiot," Stella insulted her brother. "She's far from perfect but what are you going to do about Connor?"

"I can't do anything, Stella."

"You're killing me here, Frank."

"Everything will be fine," he shrugged off, acting as if being tied to a chair with the threat of a severe beating and possible death was just a joke.

"No, you're physically killing me here, Frank," Stella pleaded. "In a few minutes, when Connor has decided that he and Blackie have finished talking about their 'business', they're going to come back here and beat me because you screwed up. If I die, it's on you. And don't apologise. It's not going to mean anything at this point."

"I am sorry, Stella," he apologised, rebelling against her words.

"Thing is, I don't believe you." The pounding in her head returning in full force, having disappeared along with Connor, when the door was pushed open to deliberately crash against the wall. "You really had to do that didn't you?"

"Well we are on opposite sides of the law," Connor shrugged, sauntering into the room. He pointed to Stella, himself and then to Frank. "You're a cop. I'm a criminal. He's a little bit of both."

"Exactly," she said. This could be her only bargaining chip, but even she knew that it was a slim chance it would actually work.

"What?"

"I'm a cop," Stella exclaimed with a newly found confidence.

"You're a dead cop," Connor answered easily. He showed no sign of being bothered by her sudden realisation.

"No, I'm a missing cop. Tactical Response, as well as most of the force is looking out there looking for me. They will find me."

Connor, bent at the waist, came uncomfortably close to Stella. "But here is the important question. Are they going to find you dead or alive?"

Stella gulped. "That's a good question. You want to give me the answer to that?"

"Stella, I will not help you cheat," he said, his tone full of sarcasm and intimidation. A smirk grew on his face, one that Stella was so concentrated on that she didn't see Blackie circling them on the border between the light and dark.

"Why are you talking to me about this? He's the one that screwed you over," Stella asked. She was severely close to pleading and begging and pissing and moaning for her life to be spared.

"Because apparently in your family, you are the one who inherited the brains. Do you know what else you inherited?"

"My looks?"

Connor didn't chuckle this time, but more or less yelled his next words. "You inability to stay out of other people's business. Think about this; if you had ignored it all, you wouldn't be here at all. As far as I can tell, you're just as much at fault as he is. You're the example for our new campaign slogan: Don't mess with us."

"That's cute. That's real cute," She chuckled.

The wind was knocked from her lungs when a sturdy pipe connected with her ribs sharply, through the gap beneath the arm of her chair. Stella was sure that she felt something crack.

"Do you want to push your luck and say that again, Stella?"

It took her a moment to get any sort of breathing rhythm happening, before she stuttered any kind of retort back at the man. "Fuck you."

"Bad decision."

She was already covered in blood; it was caked underneath her nose and down her chin, as she hadn't been able to wipe it away before it stained her shirt. A second blow came to her ribs and again there was no cry of pain. While she didn't want to give Connor the satisfaction of seeing her openly display her discomfort, the lack of air in her lungs prevented it from happening either way. Before she could take in the burning in her bones, a fist caught her across the face again. She had tried to bend at the waist in an effort to ease just a little of the pain, but a hand held her against the back of the chair. Blackie had put on a set of knuckle rings, ones that were connecting with her head again and again.

Stella was very well aware of the several head wounds that had been opened across her hairline and her eyebrows, she could feel the ooziness of blood trickling down her neck. Blow after blow came and it seemed like there was no end. Her vision had gotten hazy not long into the beating, but Stella was still able to make out words of conversation as her head lolled back and forth. Frank had been yelling and what she could see involved her brother crying, pleading for Blackie to stop. He had momentarily, giving Stella a metaphorical breather, until Frank said he still couldn't get the money, and it started all over again.

She never screamed. She groaned and moaned and bit her lip, but she never screamed once.

"I've got to admit, you've got more balls than your brother. It's been a while since I've had a challenge like this," Black smirked.

"I'm sure you're easily capable."

Through her one good eye, the other one was almost swollen shut, she saw swing the pipe in his hand. It looked bigger than the one he had used on her ribs.

"And now for today's finale!"

Stella tried to brace herself for the impact, but the searing pain she felt overwhelmed the throbbing emanating from the rest of her battered and bruised body. The pipe was swung as hard as Blackie could at one of her kneecaps. It was the worst pain she had ever felt; the bone itself was crunching under the pressure, the cartilage was collapsing on itself and the tendons exploded. The arteries in Stella neck popped out during her effort to contain her painful frustration.

"FREEZE! POLICE!" was yelled out across the room as the door was pushed open again. Flash lights searched the room, looking for one specific person. "Put down the weapon!"

Stella was trying to follow the situation with her one open eye, but was having some difficulty. Connor had already dropped to his knees with his hands on his head patiently, along with any of his thugs that were in the room as well. Blackie was the only one still standing. She could hear voices making demands; Josh, or maybe Michael.

"So do I stop moving, or do I move to drop the weapon? Make up your minds," Blackie sneered.

"Put it down," came a strangely familiar feminine voice. Shannon. "Drop the weapon and lay yourself face first on the ground."

Stella attempted to smile. _'Please don't let this be a hallucination,'_ she thought, a tear slipping down her face, before there was another sharp pain at the base of her skull. Her world went dark, just after a single gunshot echoed in her mind.

* * *

**Finally, they have found her. Specifics will be covered in the next chapter as well as Shannon punching the arsehole brother. :)**


	29. The Waiting Room

**Another Update in four days? Damn I'm good. It would have been up earlier but In A Rush was distracting me with picture after picture after picture. Thanks for the pictures XD Hubba Hubba. Maybe another one by NYE, yes yes?**

**In A Rush - names are officially sorted and I can't stop staring at the picture. So cute. And thanks for helping with the phrasing. IDEK know what I would do without you.**

**Carla-Leigh - if you think that was awesome, wait till the next chapter, actuallly you might not like it haha.**

**K - I was thinking a few paragraphs for each character, try to understand everyones feelings about the situation and about Stella. maybe some flashbacks. Hey thats a good idea**

*********PEOPLE PLEASE! if you can, please either PM me or put it in your review, your favourite stella moments off the top of yours heads. it will save me having to go through all four seasons and try to find them. Thanks**

**Anyways, here you go.**

* * *

It was proving to be an extremely long night for what was left of the Tactical Response squad. After the discovery of Stella's last known location of being a shipping container permanently stationed at the yards, the then four manned team had sped over there to do a quick poke about before Buczek could stick his nose in. Technically, they didn't have a warrant giving them permission to search the privately owned property. But considering that it never left the division it had been assigned to and they had proof their missing colleague had been there, Kerry agreed that they had a certain level of probable cause to open it up regardless. With their weapons drawn, just in case, and the headlights of both cars ready to flood the container with light, Michael and Lawson had pulled both of the heavy doors open. As expected, there had been nothing there.

While the team members had been out double checking the area for anything that may be of use, Audrey and Leon had been pouring over the financial statements of Anton Buczek, searching for anything that would indicate major construction for any of the crime leader's properties. There had been not a lot to show for their efforts seeing as the two of them had to go back almost ten years, but in the end Gary Ryan's honest had paid off. A few years after he had become the big man on the streets of Melbourne, having taken care of his competition slowly, there had been several months of renovations done to the half a dozen small houses across the street from his villa styled mansion. According to the updated floor plans that had been filed with the local council, the one thing that the renovations had in common was the addition of a basement. What the plans hadn't shown was the expansion of mazes extending from Buczek's private cellar, under the roads, sewers, water and electrical mains to each of the houses with one main hub in the middle.

Josh had returned three hours after the car crash with a burning for revenge and vengeance. That was the fourth time he had been t-boned since Grace had died and he was honestly sick of it always happening to him. Against both Lawson and Kerry's objections, the Senior Sergeant had roughly limped to the back of TR2, pulled on his discarded vest and began adjusting the rifle to his own specifications. Shannon had followed his lead, and pulled out the second rifle, made her own adjustments and took her place quietly next to him in the semi circle that had formed facing Kerry. Michael and Christian had joined them silently, before the two leaders had relented and eventually agreed. The only thing they had to wait for was a warrant or the Police Ministers go ahead for a silent rescue operation.

Within two hours, and after a personal visit to the Police Minister's house by Kerry, the team that had been driving around dangerously close to Buczek's property to waste time, parked the car half a kilometre down a parallel street, split into two groups and came from either direction. Leon had taken care of the security camera's lining the ten foot high wall on one side of the street, but was unable to terminate the feeds of the ones of the actual houses. He had cut all the power to half of the suburban city block, but was sure that backup generators would keep the systems up and running. In close to pure darkness, Josh and Shannon had sprinted around two street corners and past nine separate houses, before skulking through the shadows of number seventeen's backyard to wait for the go signal.

Lawson had led Michael and Christian from the other end of the street, with the similar protocol of the car being left the next street over, with night vision goggles into the front yard of number twenty-nine; there was a dog in the backyard of number twenty-seven, so they had opted for the front door. The Federal Police had refused to back them up with ground or aerial support, but ESD had willingly suited up with a group of uniforms, each ready to throw flash bang grenades into the four houses between each of the TR group's targets. At the sound of the alarm, any criminals hiding out in the houses would flee or at least attempt to, and hopefully take with them any men hanging out in the mazes beneath them.

"Three...two...one...go!" Lawson had instructed, and within seconds, both groups had forced their way through each respective door they had been stationed at with a flash bang, and a battering ram.

Essentially, this was a rescue mission, so no prisoners were to be taken unless it was one of their own being held. The two teams had met very little resistance on their way down, and came across even less as they worked their way through the tunnels and to the main hub, where, according to Gary Ryan, the torture chamber was located. He hadn't steered them wrong so far, so none of them had any reason to doubt his words, other than the fact that he was a small time criminal who occasionally worked for the men who kidnapped Stella and Frank.

After several wrong turns in the dim underground lighting, Shannon finally managed to spot Christian kneeling with his weapon drawn in the general direction they were aiming for. With a quick pat on her partner's shoulder, and a double tap on her microphone, each group took one side of the open centre room that converged down to one hallway that apparently led to Buczek's cellar. No more than thirty feet down the narrowing hallway, were two armed guards leaning casually against the walls on either side. Killing the light their torches were creating, Christian and Michael took the lead with the intention of subduing each man as quietly as possible, but that idea had been thrown out of the metaphorical window when they put a fight and let out a few cries to alert their boss. Lawson and Josh had had to step in and make use of the ends of their weapons to silence them.

None of them had heard Stella scream over the noise of the scuffle happening in the hallway.

It took an extra few seconds for them to secure the two guards, but they managed it. The flamboyant echoing in the concrete tunnel eventually died down enough for the five of them to hear the faint taunting in the room behind them, the weak cries of pain, and the louder ones of protest. The motions came to them easier than a reflex, each of Tactical Response officers lining up on either side of the door behind Josh and Michael.

Shannon felt herself falling back into the rollercoaster ride that was her emotions, rising slowly and ready to plummet down the other side if they found Stella or if they didn't. She was silently begging that the brunette was the one letting out the piercing screams, just so they could rest having found her. Her heart ached just that little more when sobbing began to echo over the movements in the hallway. Josh gave the instruction and the door was forced open with authority, and he and Michael ordered everyone in the room to freeze and to drop to their knees, hands joined on their heads. She saw Stella and hit was a struggle not to lose her very limited self control.

It was five against four, with two prisoners in the middle. Everyone of them was assessing the situation as the TR members slid into the room, weapons aimed at the one holding a pipe in his hand. The blood and swelling that littered Stella's broken face was proof of what Blackie's job had been. She was barely awake, her head lolling back and forth almost limply. Connor and his own bodyguard had both dropped to their knees as they had been instructed, very little worry covering their faces. A third man in the darkness had followed suit, looking rather peeved that he wouldn't be as protected from conviction as Connor was.

"Hey Josh," Connor snapped.

"A word of advice? Keep your mouth shut," was the simple reply. Connor smirked to himself and did as he was told.

"So do I stop moving, or do I move to drop the weapon?" Blackie sneered. "Make up your minds."

"Put it down," Shannon demanded, her voice shaking with anger.

Beside her, she could just make out the rough exhaling of Michael trying to control his breathing at the sight of his best friend looking so worse for wear. Frank had gone silent, his head swinging back and forth over his shoulders to get a good look at who was now behind him. Even in the dim light, he could make out Shannon's glare, ordering him to stop moving around so bloody much.

"Just one last thing," Blackie said, his words coming out as more of declaration than a request.

Everyone's weapons rose a few inches higher, aiming with a specific target and purpose in mind. Through the scope of the rifle she was holding, Shannon had Blackie's heart in her sights. She promised herself that if he made one wrong move, he was gone. Just as she predicted, the professional interrogator didn't stop his movements, and the pipe in his hand came down to crack across the back of Stella's skull. The brunette's bloody and bruised face dropped to her chest, several drops of blood slipping from the end of her nose to hit the fabric of her t-shirt.

Without hesitation or consequence or even a smear of remorse, Shannon's finger squeezed the trigger. Blackie fell backwards, hitting the concrete roughly on his back. "Clear," she said, out of pure habit. She was sure that it would hit her later, that she had taken someone's life so easily, and with so much hatred and rage.

"Michael, check on Stella," Lawson instructed. Shannon turned to look at him in disbelief, only to see him holding his hand out for the rifle. "You get Frank."

"Can't we just leave him down here?" she asked, reluctantly unclipping the clasp of the belt that held the rifle to her vest to hand him the weapon. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Christian lift the first aid kit from over his shoulder and hand it to Michael. The Senior Constable immediately began assessing Stella, speaking to her clearly in an attempt to get a response.

"Nah," Josh muttered, double checking that Blackie was dead. "Let the prison vultures have him."

"Christian, cuff these three," the TR leader said. Lawson removed himself from the room, stepping over the two guards what were regaining consciousness, to try and contact Kerry on the radios. "Get them upstairs, and then get some glow sticks, bring some uniforms down here."

"We're underground, you're gonna get static," Shannon said, standing in front of Frank, arms crossed and unmoving.

"Yeah, I got that Shannon," he threw back. "Can you please until Frank and handcuff him for ESD?"

"Michael, how is she doing?" Shannon asked, deliberately ignoring the request.

"Use your phone," Connor suggested, grimacing slightly as his arms were pulled behind his back roughly by the Islander, far enough to slip a pair of flex cuffs over his hands. "You'll get reception, I swear."

"Hang on a sec."

"Know this place well, do you?" Shannon asked, putting her hand on Connor's chest, stopping Christian from directing him out into the hallway. Without permission, she began digging into the pockets of his jacket. "Where are the keys?"

"What keys?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"The keys to the four pairs of steel cuffs restraining Stella and Frank to these damn chairs. Where are they?"

"Oh those keys."

Shannon had the feeling that if he could add a reflex or a movement to his sarcastic words, like hitting his knee playfully, he would. She was desperate to be at Stella's side, making her own observations and attempts to coax her girlfriend awake. Her ways were usually more successful, but given their current situation, the only thing it would prove would be their relationship to the rest of the team.

"Don't make this any worse for yourself, Connor," she threatened. Christian watched her with a slight feeling of unease.

"Police brutality," he said, challenging Shannon's morals.

She shrugged. "You slipped, it's quite dark down here. Who knows what could happen if you don't watch where you're going?" His face dropped. "Where are the keys?"

Connor sniffed, not believing a word Shannon had said. "Josh?"

The Senior Sergeant smiled softly at his dead lovers widower, before letting his fist snap across the man's face. Connor coughed. "Front left packet of my jacket."

"I never said I'd be the one to hurt you," she smirked, digging her hand into the aforementioned pocket and producing a set of silver keys. "Take him up Christian."

"Uni's are waiting to take him and his little friends here to the AFP's. ESD is waiting for him up there too. Ambo's will be here in a few, so let's get her upstairs," Lawson said, tucking his phone back into his vest pocket after Connor had been taken from the room. The cost was a small sense of pride, if Lawson let the man see him using his phone; it meant her would have given in, even over something as trivial as that. "How is she?"

"It's mostly bruising and superficial cuts, but the knock to head was pretty hard. She has to be at a hospital, like, yesterday. I doubt they gave her food and water in the shipping container so you can add dehydration and starvation to that list as well. And I have no idea what they did to her before we got here, aside from...this," Michael explain, waving a gloved hand over the general vicinity of Stella's face.

"Alright, can we move her?" Shannon asked, quickly unlocking the cuffs from the brunette's wrists. It was almost unbearable to have Stella so close yet so far away. The Senior Sergeant jerked back gracefully, as to now arouse any suspicion from Michael, from the simple touch of her fingertips to Stella's raw skin.

"As long as we keep her as still as possible," Michael said. "We can carry the chair out with her in it, she's light enough."

Lawson agreed, shoving the rifle into Shannon's hands so he could suitably position himself on one side of Stella's chair. "Let's do it."

Aside from the body of Harry 'Blackie' Meyers and Frank Dagostino, everyone else had already been cleared of the room. Christian and Josh had taken their newly attained prisoners to the surface, to hand them over to the waiting uniformed officers who would deliver them to the Federal Police. Frank watched as the two men picked up the chair holding his sister easily and manoeuvred their way out of the room. There was a wave of fear running through him again and again as he realised that he was still cuffed to the chair, and he was alone with his sister's girlfriend.

"Look-"

The beginning of whichever explanation he was going to blurt out was stopped in its tracks by a low growl from Shannon.

"This is all on you," Shannon said. She had yet to raise her gaze to actually look at the man sitting in front of her; she had been staring at the rifle Lawson had returned to her, wondering if he had intended to do it intentionally, if he was giving her permission to hit Frank. Ignoring the whimpers that were coming from Frank, Shannon checked and cleared the barrel and the magazine herself, locking them back into place with practiced ease. "The safety isn't on."

Frank openly gulped as he was met face first with the end of the barrel of the gun Shannon was holding. The cool metal was beginning to dig into his forehead, directly between his eyes. He looked up to meet the angry woman's eyes, and felt himself trying to judge if she would actually pull the trigger. Kill him now and then it was done. Buczek wouldn't be able to come after him, he wouldn't get convicted and put into jail with the creeps he himself had put in there in the first place.

"I'm not that stupid," Shannon commented, as if she could read his mind. "If I kill you, I go down for it. There is a such thing as evidence. I am wearing a camera, which records at all times."

"What are you going to do then?" he mumbled, his eyes watering at the stinging sensation of the barrel between his eyes.

"I don't know yet. But if she doesn't make it out alive, I'll personally hunt you down and do Udinov's job for him."

The gun swung around so fast that he had barely seen it move and had even less time to react, just as the sturdy grip hit him across the head above him temple. Shannon let out a groan of exertion, putting all of her left over energy into the swing. Frank let out a groan of pain. She only hit him twice, but it was the hardest she had ever hit anyone with the rifle before. It was the hardest she had ever hit anyone, period, regardless if she was with or without a weapon in her hands. Breathing heavily, Shannon unlocked one set of cuffs from the chair and snapped it around his other wrist, before undoing the other one completely.

It took them twice as long to get up to the surface and out through the house; Frank had walked slowly and complained of dizziness from being hit upside the head so hard. Shannon showed very little compassion for his state and only pushed him further along the hallway.

Jamieson had taken Frank from her grip, struggling momentarily to remove her hang from the crook of his elbow. He looked at her up and down, noticed the rifle and asked, "What took you so long?"

"We just had a little chat," she commented, plastering a fake and sarcastic smile across her face.

Jamieson gripped Frank's jaw, twisting his head from side to side to do a quick check of the head injury bleeding profusely. "He looks a little banged up."

"I didn't do it," Shannon shrugged.

"So if that weapon was tested for DNA, his wouldn't be on there?"

"Nah," Shannon said, turning her back on the detective and heading in the direction of the recently parked TR1 on the other side of the road to relieve herself of the rifle. She whispered to herself, "I wiped it off already."

"You stay here," Lawson commented, as he returned from instructing the local uniformed cops on where to take who and what areas had to be cordoned off. He also had the lucky choice of choosing who got to head around to Anton Buczek's front gaze, asked to be let in, and explain why his son had been arrested.

"Lawson," Shannon pleaded, swinging around to face him. "It's been two days. I need to see her."

"You can see her from here," he countered. As her returned to the vehicle, he had spotted Shannon watching the paramedics performing a preliminary examination on Stella, so they would have a report for the emergency department doctors when they arrived at the hospital. The red and blue lights of cop cars and ambulances circled on their continuous loop, shining in her face uncomfortably, but that didn't stop her from watching closely. "Kerry's boundary rules include staying on the job as separate officers until you are relieved and then you can do whatever you want. Besides, if I let you ride with her, Michael will crack the shits. This way everyone loses."

Shannon was close to begging him, on her knees. "Lawson, she's my girlfriend. No offence to Michael, but right now, I don't fucking care."

"I get that Shannon, and if I were you, I'd want to go too. But we all go together. We only have a few things to wrap up, and then we can speed over there alright?" She had a pained look on her face. "Fine, you can go and see her now, but you are not riding with her. Ask them how she's doing, ect cetera, ect cetera."

"Thank you," she said. Shannon, not practically but wholeheartedly, sprinted over to the ambulance with its back doors wide open, Stella lying on the gurney unconsciously. As discreetly as she could possible manage, Shannon slipped her hand into Stella's and turned to the closest paramedic. "How is she?"

"Hold this," he requested, shoving an IV drip bag into her free hand, motioning for her to hold it up to get the fluid moving.

Between himself and the second paramedic, they were checking her blood pressure, her respiration rate and trying to get a needle into a vein, all the while throwing around medical terminology that Shannon only understood half of. It took a few extra moments, but the medic eventually turned back to Shannon to answer her initial question.

"She's hurt. Bad," he explained. "Right patella is fractured, ribs are possibly cracked, head wounds, raw skin. The list is extensive, we won't know everything until we get her to the hospital."

"She was being held in a shipping container these last few nights."

"Massive storms, so there is a good chance she's got a chest infection." He watched her nod dumbly at the explanation. "Alright, we have to take her to the hospital now."

Shannon was barely listening, her attention focussed on the small movement she could have sworn she felt in Stella's hand. A finger had moved inside Shannon's light grip. Silently she was wishing and hoping and praying for it to happen again, for one of Stella's fingers to move strongly and give her a sense of hope to follow and hold on too. Just so she would know she hadn't actually imagined it. It didn't come, even when Stella's IV bag was pulled from her hand and the gurney was lifted into the ambulance. Slowly, Shannon slammed the back doors of the vehicle shut and watched it drive away, sirens coming to life.

It was difficult to keep the tears back, and eventually Shannon had to ask herself why she was even bothering. Everyone thought that Stella was her best mate, she should be allowed to cry at seeing her so broken. Josh's hand clapped her on the shoulder, before his arms wrapped her into a warm embrace.

"She'll be okay, Shan. She's too stubborn to disappear on us like that okay?" he said after a few minutes, simply taking comfort from their hug. He knew for a fact that the ambulance was going to Fitzroy Hospital. He knew for a fact that Tash would be the one to look after Stella. That gave him a reason to believe that Stella would make it through all of the pain, through all of the darkness to come out the other side alive and on the mend.

The woman in his arms let out a strangled sob, not caring who saw them or what they thought about a police officer breaking down at the scene. Josh couldn't help but to let a tear slip down his own face, Shannon's emotion's spilling over and splashing him. He knew exactly how she felt, having gone through the same thing with Grace. The only thing was that he didn't want Shannon to have to go through the loss, the grieving and the mourning. It was obvious to him, even though the two of them never flaunted it in front of any of their colleagues, that the two women were in love. With each other. Josh never mentioned it or asked to see if it was true, because he never felt that he needed to.

"How about we take a breather, eh?" he suggested, tugging her towards TR2 to sit down for a few minutes, before Lawson could put them to work. He sifted through one of the bags in the boot, and managed to fish out a bottle of water.

"Thanks."

"Sit here, relax for a few minutes. You can't do anything but wait at the hospital anyways. We should be gone in a few minutes anyway," Josh explained.

What was supposed to have been a few minutes wait before they hurried off down to the hospital, turned into a half an hour long wait, with Shannon growing more and more anxious by the minute. What if something went wrong on the ride over to the hospital? What if she crashed and they weren't able to resuscitate her? With her patience waning, and the temptation to simply get into one of the TR vehicles and drive over there growing, Shannon wasn't able to breathe properly until the sight of the hospital came into view through the windscreen.

The police vehicles slammed on the brakes outside of the Fitzroy Hospital Emergency Department entrance, TR1 coming close to hitting the departing ambulance thanks to Michael's driving. The five members of the seven member tactical team had jumped out of the cars before they had even fully come to a complete standstill. Kerry had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and parked her car around the corner in the hospitals designated visitors parking lot. She had had trouble in getting a uniform to head over to Nina and Nikolai's hotel, to pick them up and explain what had happened, as well as having a Federal Police Agent riding her about the mess they had to clean up.

Kerry had hung up on them, and told Leon to take messages.

The leader of the Tactical Response Unit led his team into the building and straight to the administration desk, to see a nurse who was _too busy_ talking to one of her colleagues to answer the request for assistance. Lawson ignored Kerry's voice as he knocked on the glass window surrounding the desk. He was waved off with a 'visiting hours are over', even though he was standing there dressed in his full uniform and vest with four other officers standing behind him, and an Inspector to his left.

"Excuse me," he said strongly, in his pest 'seriously angry' voice.

"Hold on, please."

The nurse seemed extremely reluctant to want to help him, and sighed before turning back around to continue gossiping about the newest resident hottie.

"HEY!" Shannon banged a closed fist against the glass panels, effectively gaining the nurses attention as the glass continued to rattle loudly. Kerry roughly grabbed the arm hold of Shannon's tactical vest, pulled her away from the nurses' station, and began to talk in rushed whispered about something on the two of them, Lawson and Stella knew about.

"Now that we have your undivided attention, Nurse," started Lawson, watching as the short, middle-aged woman turned with wide eyes, "Hamilton, I am Senior Sergeant Lawson Black of the Tactical Response Unit. A member of my team was brought in around thirty minutes ago. Can you please tell me where Senior Constable Stella Dagostino is?"

The nurse lowered herself gently to her chair and began typing on her computers keyboard, searching for any information hospital staff had registered about Stella. The other nurse she had been gossiping with a mere thirty seconds before, had sunk into the corner to watch vigilantly.

"An unusual surname. How do you spell it?" Nurse Hamilton seemed to be slightly on edge, either from Shannon's outburst, or from Lawson's calm reaction to said outburst.

"D-A-G-O-S-T-I-N-O," Lawson answered politely and with a smile.

The other members of the team waited anxiously behind him, Shannon and Kerry sitting in a couple of chairs recently vacated by people, who had tried to casually duck into another seat when the two women had initially headed for the chairs.

"Dagostino, Stella. Heading to surgery on the third floor. You can wait up there if you like," the nurse explained. There was an edge to her tone; she was definitely peeved that she had been spoken too so rudely, but acted polite nonetheless until the TR members left her front desk.

"Thanks for your help," said Lawson, smiling.

With a small flick of the head, and the entire group followed him towards the elevators. Shannon was only able to wait all of three seconds before she went exploring for the stairwell. By the time she reached the third floor and was well on her way towards the floor's nurses station, the elevator ding behind her, and Kerry and the boys poured out impatiently.

The staff members on the surgical floor were nicer and more helpful that Nurse Hamilton had been. _'Maybe she called ahead,'_ Kerry though to herself.

The wait was torture, as everyone sunk into uncomfortable cushioned chairs around the visitor's lounge-slash-waiting area, to either crash as the adrenaline wore off, begin praying, pacing, or fidgeting. Lawson was leaning against the side wall opposite Shannon and Josh, trying to sort it all out in his head and explain the guilt sitting on his shoulders. He knew that looking back to the beginning of their two and a half day long panic session, he was not at fault for Stella's disappearance. As the team leader, and the one responsible for everyone's careers and their wellbeing, feeling guilty came with the territory.

Michael paced because...well...Michael paced. His hands were wrung together in the same pattern every time he turned around and walked the ten foot length of the room. Stella was his first real love, the one you don't forget. The two of them had agreed the last time that had slept together, that their friendship was more important than their hormones and needs, and that was over a year ago. She was his best friend. He couldn't lose her, because he didn't know what he would do without her. Who would he turn to talk about his girl problems, or to head down the pub with for a drinking competition? Stella was a person of that kind of importance in his life, and that person was a permanent requirement in the Senior Constable's existence.

Christian had his back to everyone, kneeling on the floor and using the chair as a resting place for his joined hands. His lips moved quickly and quietly as he prayed for a scrap of good news, anything to give them hope. Usually his belief system would have been enough, but since becoming an accepted member of Tactical Response, it had wavered and become stretched thin due to some of the things he had been exposed to. Christian had been Stella's replacement, so the respect he had for her was already high when he first officially met her outside of the cash holding facility on Kronin's big cash job. She had become a friend because of their shared faith. It was in his blood and his bones to pray for her to be okay, because he couldn't stand for his friends or his family to be hurt. He just wanted to tease her about Jesus a little more, and he promised that he would when she woke up.

Kerry had disappeared not long into the wait, mumbling something about getting coffee for the team to keep them awake after being awake for close to thirty five hours. She had no idea how any of them were still running, but she figured that what they had in their tanks was barely fumes. Kerry didn't want to be in there, because it meant she had to face her responsibility of being the face of Tactical Response. She ran everything behind the scenes, with the help of Leon, and the pressure was a thankful distraction from the lack of everything else in her life, but being at the front of it all was different somehow. Kerry was married to the job, and the TR members were like her kids. It was already difficult to see one of them hurt this badly. She could remember the tension hanging over the base when Dom and Grace had been in the similar situation. And that hadn't ended on a good note.

Josh was sitting next to Shannon, slouching into the furniture, wondering if it was a rule or a written law that every ward in every hospital across the country or even across the world and to have uncomfortable chairs in their waiting rooms. His hand was sitting on the brunette's back, trying to calm her down but it wasn't working very well. Two and half years before, Grace had complained of a small headache and never woke up again, while Dom had gone through three major surgeries and pretty much walked out of the hospital a few weeks later. He hated hospitals, because every time the people he cared about went in for this reason or that, half the time they never came back out the same, or even at all. Having experienced the loss and the confusion that came with losing the one person you are destined to fall in love with, Josh would have kept Shannon from it if he could have. But he knew that it wasn't possible.

Shannon herself was sitting in the corner seat near the door, watching blankly as doctors and nurses and tech staff walked or ran up and down the hallways. One knee was bouncing, while the other was being used an arm rest for her elbow as she chewed relentlessly on her fingernails. Her free hand fidgeted with the cross dangling from the chain around her neck Over the ten months that had passed since their relationship had begun, Shannon had found herself at a point where she was unable to imagine her life without the brunette in it, in some way, shape or form. Her girlfriend, the one that had asked her to move in with her almost three days before, was in surgery. Shannon could lose Stella, and her heart was breaking. She felt as if she were locked in a sound proof booth, and she was screaming at the top her lungs.

No one could hear her. They wouldn't even notice her.

It had been nearly an hour with no news from the doctors or nurses of Stella's condition and no one had moved, save for Michael who had never stopped pacing. It was a total of sixty minutes, of pondering, remembering, thinking. They weren't actually doing a lot, or anything at all, but in that time, the six of them became more exhausted than they had been during their search for Stella.

The door to the waiting area opened suddenly, and everyone became alert.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any news, but the police vehicles in the ambulance loading bay need to be moved. It's difficult for the paramedics to get the ambulances in and out," she explained, with a polite and apologetic smile on her face.

"Yeah, no worries," said Lawson, thankful for the distraction. Technically their shift had ended over three hours ago and they were running on fumes; the hospital coffee Kerry had found tasted like crap and did nothing for their energy levels. They were just too tired. "Kerry, you want to stay here?"

"Yeah," she agreed, pulling her phone out and standing from her seat. "I'll get Leon to find me contact numbers for her parents. The uniform I sent to pick them up obviously hasn't found them yet."

"Everyone else, down to the cars. We're going to go back to base, restock the cars, shower, do whatever. We can come back later." After a moment's pause, Lawson turned back and spoke louder than before, with more authority. "Michael, move."

"No, I'm staying," he responded fiercely.

"Muppet, only two people are staying, and that is Kerry and Shannon. The rest of us are leaving. You can come back later. Now move!" said Josh, his first words since jumping out of the car over an hour before. Michael willingly but grudgingly left with arguments.

"Why is she staying?" he asked, pointing at Shannon roughly as if he was jealous.

"Because I say she is," said Kerry. Her word was law for the Tactical Response members, and Michael left it at that.

Lawson threw car keys to Josh and Christian as they moved to leave. Josh patted Shannon on the shoulder before he left. Shannon peeled off her ballistics vest, pulling out her phone and wallet from the chest pockets, and handed it to Lawson, as he stood in front of her with his hands held out expectedly.

"Weapon, too."

The Senior Sergeant unbuckled the holster and handed it over, slumping back into her seat and sighing shakily. Lawson kneeled in front his team member, his family member.

"I'll be back later. Stella's going to be fine, Shannon. She's too bloody stubborn."

The young woman cracked a smile; a small one, but a smile nonetheless. "Josh said the same thing."

"Well, he's right, isn't he?"

Shannon nodded honestly and watched him leave the room. It was well past midnight and neither woman were quite ready to sleep even though they had managed very little sleep over the last few days, and for Shannon the past few weeks. It was all Stella's fault. And then it was only Kerry, Shannon and the silence of the waiting room.

As the night slowly progressed, several people popped their heads into the waiting room, looking for certain people and not finding them. Every time, Kerry and Shannon sat upright expecting and craving some news about Stella, only to slump back into their seats with nothing. By eight am, Nina and Nikolai had still yet to appear, leaving Kerry to curse the constable she had sent looking for them over the phone as quietly as she could. The last thing she needed was to get told off by hospital staff for being on her phone.

A nurse came in, carrying a tray off decent looking coffee, Stella's parent's trailing behind her. Their faces showed stress and years of hard work and raising kids. They looked extremely stressed, and with good reason. Shannon stood from her seat, feeling rather awkward after her conversation with Nikolai. She still felt guilty no matter what he had said.

"Kerry's been trying to get a hold of you all night," Shannon explained, as her boss shook hands with Nina and Nikolai.

They turned to Shannon and both enveloped her into suffocating hugs. Kerry was about to properly introduce them, not realising that they were already acquainted. The inspector looked at them curiously just as Nina asked Shannon how she was doing.

"I'm okay. I would be a whole lot better if they could give us some news," explained Shannon. The look she was getting from her superior urged her to explain the hugs. "I met her parents about two months about, that week we had off after Dom's funeral. Remember? Road trip up Bendigo. Me and Stel."

The realisation came across Kerry's face. "Right."

The memory of the week they had spent away from their real lives made her tear up slightly, but Shannon wiped them away quickly as a doctor came around the corner in surgical scrubs. It took her a moment, due to the uniform, but she managed to recognise Tash standing in front of her with a health folder in her hands. Shannon only just realised that the boys hadn't come back to the hospital all night.

"Family of Stella Dagostino?"

The group of four turned around to face her. "We're her parents," Nikolai said, Nina gripping his hand. Shannon stood behind them, listening blankly as the doctor as directed them to sit down. "How is she?"

Tash sighed with resignation. "Stella isn't in good spot at the moment. She has sustained several cuts and abrasions to her head, as well as the strong hit to the back of her skull. There is quite a bit of swelling on her the back of her brain that we have worked to relieve in surgery. Four of her ribs on the right side have been broken and were very close to puncturing her lung but thankfully we managed to prevent that. Due to the conditions she was being held in, Stella has developed a case of mild pneumonia that is easily treatable with a few rounds of antibiotics."

Shannon listened, imagining everything Tash was explaining in her mind, and managing to visualise it vividly. Her gaze was still directed at the floor, her elbows resting on her knees. She could feel Kerry's hand rubbing across her back calmly. It wasn't working very well.

"There had also been a severe amount of damage done to her left knee. Her patella, or her kneecap, has been shattered past the point of reparability, so there will be at least one more surgery to perform a complete reconstruction and introduce a replacement patella. Now even though Stella isn't out of the woods at the moment, best case scenario has her in rehab in four to six weeks. But that is the best case scenario," Tash said, reinforcing her last sentence. "You need to understand that it's not a guarantee."

Tash paused, grimacing as she explained Stella's worsening conditioning as if she was reading it from a script. "Now the main concern from the neurological perspective is the lack of brain activity. Her EEG readings are quite low. So the even though the next three days are critical for the brain swelling, if her readings continue to decrease over the next twelve hours, unfortunately, she will declared brain dead. But, and I stress, that is only the worst case scenario."

"When can we see her?" Shannon asked quietly.

"Well at the moment, she's being moved to the ICU to be monitored more closely after her surgery. You can go in about half an hour. You can only go in two at a time. I have to warn you that seeing a loved one in a condition like this can be scary or shocking, so you need to prepare yourselves for when you see her."

Tash looked at the group in front of her. Any time she had found herself on the delivering end of this kind of message to family members or loved ones, there was always a level of difficulty to it. But she knew Stella more personally than she did her usual patients, they had gotten to know one another at the gatherings Josh had dragged her to after a thirty-six hour shift at the hospital. In a simple sense of the word, Stella was her friend, and the emotions that were usually dulled from years of practice, had been intensified. It came with the territory unfortunately. "I'm sorry."

Tash excused herself from the waiting room, to give the family time to accept the news and discuss any options they feel they may have. Barely five feet out of the room, and the blinds on the door crashed violently behind her. She heard something about someone needing some air before Shannon brushed passed her in the direction of the stairwell. The blonde doctor watched on, briefly wondering how Josh was handling it all. Through the open door, Tash offered a polite and encouraging smile to Kerry and moved on to do her rounds.

It was expected that when she entered the stairwell, Shannon would head down, in the direction of tempting freedom. She needed a moment alone, in a place where no one would think to look for her, somewhere to hide and break down without any onlookers. First she just had to get out. The rush of air that hit her face as she left the main entrance was refreshing and scary at the same time. Here she was, standing in the middle of slow hospital traffic, alive and awake, and Stella was four floors above her in intensive care being closely watched, and slowly dying.

Shannon wanted to scream, to release her aggression and frustration, and at the same time, she wanted to be sitting at Stella's bed side, holding her hand so the brunette wouldn't be scared of the looming and overwhelming darkness sucking her in. She didn't know what to do.

"Hey," came from behind her. Josh had just gotten out of his car, shoving the keys into his pocket with ever step closer.

"I'm not in the mood," Shannon said, dropping to the kerb to bury her face in her hands.

"Not good?" he asked, taking a seat next to her, despite the fact that he could see she wanted to be left alone.

"Bad," she sniffled.

"Well she can't die," Josh said suddenly, his voice full of confidence. "I owe her fifty bucks."

"What did you bet on this time?" Shannon asked, curious to know what they had put wager's on this time. She wasn't surprised really, but it was always a small piece of fun for the TR members.

"You. I told her that I'd give her fifty bucks if she asked you out, and when through with it too."

Shannon let out sad chuckle.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What are you sorry for?" Shannon growled. "She's your...friend too."

"She's more than just a friend to you," Josh remarked. His comment earned him a shocked and questioning glare from the woman sitting next to him. "Oh, please. I'm not Michael, so I'm not exactly blind, am I?"

"You knew?"

"I had my suspicions. That were apparently correct." Josh offered a playful smile. "How long?"

Shannon sniffed again. "A little before you and Tash. She asked me out the day Minka got drunk and jumped off the pier."

The two of them sat in silence again. "Look, I know what it's like to be the one out here while she's in there and you can't do anything. But you've got me if you need to vent, alright?"

Shannon nodded, unable to stop the newest wave of tears.

"Have you seen her yet?"

"Nah," she answered. "They were moving her to ICU after her surgery when Tash came and told us."

"We'll get her back. How about we go see how she's doing right about now?"

Shannon nodded, stood and wrapped her arms around Josh desperately the moment he had joined her. His own arms came around Shannon's thin frame tightly for the second time in twelve hours, giving her enough pressure to know that she wasn't alone.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime," he said, just as quietly, before letting his arm hang over her shoulders and dragging her back inside.

* * *

**Will she wake up, or will they lose her forever? *reads in the Law and Order voice over voice***

**Next up, Stella gets some visitors.**


	30. The End

**Alrighty, another update for you fabulous followers. Please don't kill me for the ending but THIS IS NOT THE END! I promise.**

**Happy Hereford - that aint a review! lol also, get your arse online. I haven't spoken to you in ages.**

**In A Rush - you are probably the only one who could actually kill me.**

**Carla-Leigh - you'll kill me**

**Love The RUSH - thanks for the review**

**K - Josh plays his part in this one too. Thanks for the knowledge. But what I meant was that, depending on her progress with her brain injury, she could be actively doing her rehab within four to six weeks. Not that the rehab would take the long cause thats ridonkulous. But thank you anyways. :)**

**Just to clear this up. Italics = Stella's POV/thoughts, Bold/italics = her talking in her thoughts, normal = everyone else.**

* * *

_Everything was a dark and gloomy haze. There was the occasional dull light that passed by, going over her head, and disappearing before another would come and go, as if it was on repeat. She was moving. A squeak of a wheel became more annoying that the lights above her._

_Her eyelids were refusing to cooperate with the demands her brain was making, and open so she could take in the environment she was now in. While she couldn't see anything but darkness, her four remaining senses were alert for the most part. She could hear the shuffling of people around her, unsure who they were exactly, while monitors were beeping calmly. _

_There were tingles under her skin as a hand curled around her wrist. Her hand was dropped back to the scratchy sheets. Her mouth was dryer than the entire country on a forty-five degree day, and her nose was blocked, by what, she didn't know._

_Her arms and legs were heavy, she couldn't move at all, not even a single finger. Why couldn't she move? Aside from the small sickness in her stomach, and the small headache and the throbbing starting in her knee and her ribs, Stella felt perfectly fine. So why couldn't she wake up? Maybe she was dead, and this was her on her way to heaven, or possibly to hell._

_Now she was scared, as whatever she had been on that was moving, turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt. There were pinches on the backs of one hand and in the crook of an elbow. A soft pressure became known on an index finger while a harsh one developed in her knee as it was lifted and replaced on a soft mound. Where was she?_

**_'Hello? Is anyone there?'_**

In most hospitals, there is a small area in one corner of the Intensive Care Unit, where people are allowed to sit anxiously and impatiently for their turn to visit one of the few patients on this particular side of the ward. The waiting area in Fitzroy Hospital's ICU was the size of Shannon's laundry room, and was overflowing with too many chairs than was actually necessary. In the hours that followed the completion of Stella's surgery and her move from the surgical ward to intensive care, the population of the waiting are grew substantially. Most of her visitors sat together, not for comfort, but because there was very little distance that they could put between themselves. Three took up the corner seats, pretending to read the outdated magazines on the tables. One was praying again, one would be pacing if there was room and the knees of the last two were bouncing erratically. The family members were huddling in the middle of the room, parents trying to explain word for word what the doctors had said while a worried brother and rather pregnant sister-in-law tried to take it all in under a fog of fatigue.

The one question that had been raised several times by Nikolai and Oskar in the half an hour they were all huddled together before they could see Stella, their words leaving any Tactical Response members averting their gazes to the floor, was 'where was Frank?'

Shannon had found herself seeking Josh's line of sight every time one of them asked, to see if he was thinking the same thing. Kerry had warned them all not to say a word about who had a hand in the events that led the whole debacle; Stella's family only needed to face one tragedy at a time, she could fill them in later on once the immediate issues had been dealt with. She hated lying to them, especially after they had been so welcoming and accepting of her, and her relationship with their only daughter.

The moment a nurse had announced that Stella was stable and settled into the allocated bed bay, Nina and Nikolai had been out of their seats faster than the Road Runner escaping from Wile E Coyote. They had barely heard the 'talk to her, it's been proven to help, even in the worst cases'. Oskar and Michael had both gone to follow, having not heard the initial visitation instructions from Tash, until the nurse stopped them both in their tracks with a stern 'two at a time'. Shannon could see their expressions from her seat as they rounded the half closed curtain, her hand tugging on the chain around her neck. She knew that it was bad, even before she saw Nina begin to cry, but this just confirmed it.

_"Oh my Stella," cried a familiar voice. Stella looked around for the source of the noise, but couldn't find it among all of the darkness surrounding her. She wanted to call out to her mother, as the woman sobbed into the skin of her arm._

_There was that tingling sensation in her arm again, a few inches above her mother's shaking form, but it was rougher than the hand from before. Her father._

_"Stella, you have to wake up for us. Everyone is here, waiting for you to wake up so you can get better. Shannon is beside herself with grief, it's like you've died."_

**_'Here? Where is here?'_ **_Stella asked herself. Shannon was the last thing she could remember, her voice echoing over everything. Sure the beating was still running in her mind, constant reminders from the occasional throbs of pain._

_At her father's choice of words, her mother sobbed a little harder, and if she could cry at the time, she would have. She wanted to open her eyes, to see wet and proud smiles of her parents, of Oskar and Sarah, of Shannon, of Kerry and the boys. At this point she would even open her eyes for Lawson. As long as she could do that, see where she was and take in what was going on, she didn't care._

_But her eyelids just wouldn't lift on their own._

_"You have to be strong for us, don't give in. We beg of you. Please." He was unable to mask his tears and emotions any longer. "You have some remarkable doctors doing everything that they can; you just have to do your part, Stella. We cannot lose our only daughter."_

_Doctors. She was in a hospital. That explained it all; the pains and aches, the beeps and the lights over her head. Besides being unable to open her eyes to take it all in, Stella was almost completely alert. **'Whoever said morphine is a godsend is an idiot.'** Whatever medication they had her on was clearly not working, because she could still feel it all there in the background._

_"If you can't wake up, just squeeze my hand, as hard as you can manage," her mother pleaded. "Just so we know that you can hear us._

_Stella tried her hardest, honestly to grip her mother's hand. It was frustrating her that she was unable to move at all. She could hear and imagine her father beginning to openly crying after a few good and long seconds, and his daughter hadn't moved._

_"She'll be okay," she could barely hear as it came from her father in a whispered hush into her mother's hair. _

_Then, aside from the occasional cry from both parents and the regular soft beep from a machine, it was quiet while they sat there taking in the sight of their only daughter. There was never complete silence. If her monitors weren't beeping, it was someone else's that were. And on top of that, there was always the constant shuffling of what Stella suspected to be nurses, or doctors, or other patients being moved._

Sarah started sobbing from her spot next to Oskar. They were all unable to see what was going on in the bay Stella had been assigned entirely, but the cries of shock from Nina gave them a good indication of what they were in for.

As a family, they were naturally very close. Oskar had always been very protective of his little sister, his only sister. Even when she didn't need or want protecting. Very easily, quite a few memories from their high school days popped into his head and he couldn't help but chuckle at the thoughts. Sarah looked at him as if he had no heart; his sister was lying unconscious in a hospital bed, her health deteriorating by the hour, and he was sitting there laughing.

"High school," he said with a chuckle. It only took a few minutes before he was explaining to everyone in the waiting room the time Stella got suspended for kicking the high school's footy star in the privates for cheating on her...in the middle of a match against the rival school.

By the time Stella's parents had returned to let Oskar and Sarah in for a visit, nearly half an hour had passed and quite a few embarrassing stories about everyone's favourite brunette were swapped for laughs; a sixteen year old Stella breaking her arm on Frank's stolen...borrowed skateboard, taking their parents car for a joyride the week before she broke her arm, photographic proof of her wearing a dress. Twice, the nurse had to tell the group to keep it down, that it was the intensive care unit and not a rave party.

Now, it was just the active Tactical Response members were left in the waiting room. Nina and Nikolai removed themselves from the ICU for some space to think and process. Their hotel was only was five minutes from the hospital, but they didn't want to stray too far in case something happened. Kerry had been talking to the staff members, managing to persuade them to let her use a small office, so she could explain the specifics of the situation to Stella's parents. They disappeared down the hall as Oskar and Nikolai took their places at Stella's bedside.

_"Hey little sister," was the first thing her brother said when he took his place on one side of the bed. Sarah came to stand on the other side. Her skin was tingling again as they gripped at her hands lovingly. She realised that it wasn't a pleasant feeling, but more of a painful one like the beginning of pins and needles._

**_'Hey, Osk.'_**

_"Why did you have to get yourself involved?" he begged. "Why? You never could leave things alone." _

**_'It's not like I wanted to have a part in it Oskar!'_**_ If only she could speak, she would yelling at her brother._

_"Oskar," Sarah scalded him. "These things just happened. You can't blame Stella for this. It comes with the job, you know that."_

**_'Thank you, Sarah! I knew there was a reason I liked you.'_**_ Stella was glad that she got on with her sister-in-law; mainly because it gave her a more even playing field when she came from a family of boys._

_"When I find out who pulled you into this, I'm gonna beat the crap out of them," was growled out, in an unusually low tone for her brother._

_Stella inwardly cringed at the comment. She guessed that he still didn't know that it their brother who was responsible. If only she could see his quest fulfilled._

_"Stella, we love you and you need to get better so you can meet your niece when she's born."_

_"Yeah, if you're not careful, we'll name her after you."_

**_'God forbid.'_**_ Her brother's comment reduced the fear that had been creeping up as her family had talked to her. She couldn't see, she couldn't move, she could talk, essentially she was trapped. Stella knew that she was safe, that no one could hurt her here. But that didn't stop the emotion welling up inside of her, with no way of being expressed._

Shannon was cringing with worry, after Kerry had taken her girlfriend's parents away to fill in the blanks while the rest of them waited. Since Stella's family had been-slash-was with the brunette, it left her colleagues in the designated area, impatiently bouncing knees and developing ideas on how they could get in next. She was expecting yelling or storming down the hall or one of them to come at her for misplacing their trust.

When it didn't happen immediately, she took to glancing around the room. It was obvious that, since Oskar's story telling session, everyone was trying to remember their favourite memories or moments with the woman they were all hanging out for to wake up. Naturally, their first date had jumped into Shannon's mind, and subsequently the fifty bucks Josh owed her girlfriend, but given the fact that she couldn't tell any of them that made it worse. Not that she would give away intimate details to Josh or Lawson or Kerry, because that would almost ruin the fantasy for her, as well as the fact that they would give Stella endless amounts of crap for being a part-time hopeless romantic.

Lawson declared that he would go next, when Oskar and Sarah reluctantly left his sisters side not long after they had entered. Michael began to argue, saying that Stella meant more to him than she did to any of the rest of them, and that none of them were in uniform so there was no hierarchy or rank between them.

"She means everything to me, Lawson. I deserve to go and see her next." Shannon bit the inside of her cheek at his naive words, and almost shook her head at Lawson when he looked at her.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, you know that."

"What about her girlfriend?" Josh's arm that was around her shoulders squeezed gently, both sets of eyes following their argument as if it were a tennis match; Lawson's ball, Michael's ball, back to Lawson, back to Michael.

"I don't see her here."

Fifteen-love to Michael.

"I won't be long," Lawson said, walking away without another word.

The Senior Constable huffed angrily before dropping into his seat again. His eyes worked their way around the room; Christian who raised his hands in defeat, Josh as he mimicked the Islander with one free hand, and Shannon who didn't even meet his eyes. If she did, there was a good chance she would rip him a new one for being so presumptuous. Sure she knew that her girlfriend and Michael had some history, but she was offended that he thought she meant so little to the rest of them.

_"I'm not going to take too much of your time," came from nowhere, and Stella obviously inwardly groaned. Lawson had taken the cautious, silent approach, effectively making her jump out her skin metaphorically._

**_'Oh joy. Can you just send Shannon in already? I just want to tell her I'm okay. Why can't any of you see that?'_**_ Stella yelled. It rang in her mind and increased the throbbing that had settled under the surgical bandages around her head._

_"You've got a full house out there in the waiting room."_

**_'What am I? A rock star?'_**

_"Look, I know that I've never been very appreciative or supportive of you and Shan, but if you die on her, I'll kill you myself," he threatened. She couldn't feel his breath on her faces or tickling her ear, but his voice had gotten rather deep and loud, even though he seemed to be whispering. _

**_'And then I'll come back and haunt your arse.'_**

_He sat in the provided chair and watched her. She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head. Was that all her had come to do? Threaten her to kill her if she died? Wow. So what did he say at Dom's bedside back when Grace died and Sandrine had given birth to baby G?_

_Lawson had never been a man to show emotions, unless they included anger, guilt and perverse comments in a conversation most likely started by Leon or Michael down at the pub. "I'm sorry I let you get dragged into this, Stel."_

**_'Don't you dare blame this on yourself.'_**_ Even though he could have nothing to do with a completely unrelated topic or situation, there was still some way that he could blame himself for the outcome. Especially if it were a negative one._

_"I should have seen it, that something was wrong with you. I guess I just assumed it was relationship troubles," he sighed. In her mind, Stella rolled her eyes. It was too bad that she couldn't move or talk, otherwise she would have scoffed in his face, rolled her eyes in front of him and probably added a slap for good measure. "You're on my team, I should have been looking out for you."_

**_'Bloody hell. You had no idea because I didn't let you in on it. I'm not about to tell you things about my private life after you kiss my girlfriend!'_**

_There was a reason the two of them didn't get along very well, and it hadn't started when he had kissed Shannon. A tension had always been there, since Tactical Response had been started. Stella was too careless and naive and full of herself most of the time, whereas Lawson was uptight and straightforward, by the book, for everyone else's problems except his own._

_Having clashed since day one, their working relationship had relaxed somewhat over the following three years, mainly because had Kerry taken over and was__n't as straight-laced as he was. The tension had increased during his discovery of their relationship, and had yet to let up._

_"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."_

_There was the screeching of his chair briefly as he stood. A quick pat on her hand, and she was left in the relative silence again, seething at his attitude. In the space of...an hour or so, she had no idea of time as she was out of it...she had gone from scared, to even terrified, to less scared and happier, to angry. _

**_'Jackass.'_**

Shannon was watching Lawson carefully. That was the best thing about the seat she had chosen; she could see right into Stella's bed bay, with the exception of not actually being able to see her girlfriend. She was itching to glance into the bay, but on the inside she was screaming. And no one could hear her.

"I need something to distract me," she whispered to Josh. "It's hell sitting next here, fighting over who gets to see her next."

"I thought you wanted to go last," he replied.

"I do, it's just...waiting. I suck at waiting."

He chuckled, and nodded at Michael. "You're not the only one." Michael had taken to standing at the far wall of the waiting area, arms crossed and leaning against the sterile plaster as he watched the bed bay with heightened vigilance.

"Don't get me started."

"Then how do you plan to distract yourself?" he asked, giving her a pointed look. "Want to go for a walk?"

"No."

"Well, that's helpful."

She dug her shoulder into his body in mock agitation. "You never told me."

"Told you what?"

"Did you ever ask her?" He looked a little lost, and she was sure that he expressed it deliberately. "Tash. Did you ever ask her to marry you?"

"You popped the question?" Christian asked, being pulled out of his hour long prayers by the question. "When did this happen?"

"I don't know," said Shannon. "He didn't get to tell me if he asked or not."

"I wonder what she said," Christian wondered out loud.

"You know, I'm sitting right here." Josh raised an eyebrow at the two of them. Michael was only half listening to their conversation.

"Well? Did you ask her?" Shannon demanded. "What did she say?"

Everyone had become momentarily distracted from the heavy emotional situation they were currently in. Shannon was actually enjoying picking on Josh; it reminded her of a normal day at work.

"Alright, yeah. I asked her," Josh admitted, looking away as if it would end the topic of conversation. Shannon thumped him hard in the leg, while Christian prodded him along. "And she said no."

"Awww," Shannon cooed.

Quickly and quietly, he added. "With Minka standing three feet behind me."

Even Michael couldn't help but laugh, before practically sprinting through the ICU and past the nurse's station to Stella. Two staff members told him off for running. Shannon and Christian briefly took in the boy as he took off, keeping most of their attention on Josh.

"Mate, that's harsh," Christian said in between giggles.

"Tell me about it."

"You're still together though, right?"

"Yeah. She said she's just not ready for it yet." Josh shrugged. "Told her I wouldn't stop asking."

Shannon smiled at his persistence, thinking that Tash was lucky to have him. She would have to tell the blonde doctor that next time she saw her. The small comical respite they were given didn't last long, as they settled back into silence. Shannon leant into Josh, looking for the friendly comfort that she could always count on him for.

With Michael now gone from the waiting room, and Lawson unlikely to return as he went searching for Kerry, Christian had more room to spread out and continue begging...praying...for Stella's wellbeing and health. He wasn't on his knees anymore, but he has still gone back into the safety net of his religion. His newly found distance, gave Josh and Shannon just enough privacy for the man to ask his next question.

"Hey, Shan?"

"What?" she replied, beginning to doze off against his shoulder. She hadn't slept all night and the hospital coffee was terrible.

"Would you, you know, if you could?"

"Would I 'what' if I could?" she looked up from his shoulder. "You're a big boy now. Use your words, Joshy."

He rolled his eyes at her childishness, glanced at Christian to double check, and asked the question again in more detail. "If you could ask Stella...to marry you. Would you do it?"

"Without hesitation," Shannon answered quickly.

The emotions came back, leaving her to play the 'what-if' game again in her mind. What if Stella didn't make it? What if she did? When would she ask? How would she set the whole thing out? Would they have a family together one day, or would it end in the Fitzroy Hospital's Intensive Care Unit?

_The chair screeched again in Stella's ear, and there was a kiss pressed to her forehead, just under the bandaging._

**_'Whiskers,'_**_ Stella thought, at the scratchy tingling across her cheek. It wasn't Shannon. **'What was taking her so long to be in here? Did she really look that bad? Was her condition that bad?'**_

_"Why you?" was whispered in the very familiar voice of Michael._

_Stella wasn't sure how much more she could take. It was like they were all saying their goodbyes to someone who wasn't dead yet. Maybe she was on life-support. If she was on life-support, she would be brain-dead, but she could hear herself think, so there was very little chance of that. Maybe, she was just in a coma. _

_"I love you Stel. I'm in love with you. I have been since I started working with you. I know it seems like I've said that to you so many times over the last few years, but it's true. We belong together; your girlfriend isn't even here for Christ's sake. Everyone is here except for her, not that I would know who she is, because you never introduced us."_

**_'Even if I loved you like you love me, what about Audrey?'_**

_It was creepy how well the two of them had gotten along on a friendship level, through their flings and personal scandals and struggles to work with each other afterwards. He answered her silent question._

_"If I could have you, Stel, I would do everything to protect you, to show you that I love you. I'd make you happy. You know it. I'd end it with Audrey right now if you wake up."_

**_'My heart doesn't belong to you so I'll keep my eyes shut on purpose.'_**

_"Please." It was a rarity to see Michael cry, and if she was awake, Stella probably would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. She did love him, just not the way he wanted her too. Best mates for life, end of story._

_Even if she could have moved, Stella wouldn't, for several reasons. One, she would save any progress for her family or for Shannon. Out of all of her visitors so far, they meant the most to her. Two, she loved Shannon wholeheartedly, so she wouldn't open her eyes for him or anyone else. She could have simply been asleep, and she wouldn't have bent to his request. Three, it would be unfair to Audrey who, unlike Stella, loved Michael the way he should be and deserved to be loved._

**_'I'm sorry.'_**

Michael had stormed out of the bed bay, once again to the protests of the nurses, only a few minutes after his declaration of love. It wasn't hard to see that he had been crying during his visit. Simply at the sight of his red puffy eyes, a tear slipped down Shannon's cheek, which was quickly wiped away before anyone could see it.

Josh had nodded to Christian, that his turn was up. He had politely declined for the moment, deciding to go next, but to give Stella a rest from her visitors. Apparently too many in one day or all at once, could be stressful for coma patients. He didn't know what he wanted to say to her, so he spent his few minutes almost preparing a speech or something nice to comment on, maybe talk about a memory.

Nina and Nikolai still had not returned from Kerry's request for a conversation over an hour before. Oskar and Sarah had disappeared too and Shannon had no idea where they had gone. With only one person left before her turn was next, a wave of panic ran through her with a chill.

"I'm just gonna go get a drink," she said to Josh, leaving without another word and ignoring his question if she needed an escort in case she freaked out and ran, or simply broke down in the hallways.

He couldn't help but wonder if she meant an alcoholic drink, despite the fact that is was barely noon.

There was a vending machine just outside the doors to the ICU. It ate her first dollar, but gave way when she banged her fist angrily against the side. The bottle of water was dumped into the collection bin at the bottom of the machine and shakily, Shannon sipped at the cooling fluid. Running crossed her mind, but if Stella woke up and found out that she hadn't visited, there was no doubt that she would be called 'chicken shit' at least once.

She sunk to the floor next to the machine, relishing in the new found solitude she had. Since the night before, at the scene, Shannon hadn't had a moment to herself to think or process or put herself back together. She hadn't even broken down yet since their discovery of the battered and bruised Stella. The bottle in her hands dropped the short distance to the floor as sobs and shakes began to rack her body harshly and painfully. The occasional nurse and the rarer visitor would walk past, casting worried glances at her on the floor in her police uniform. None of them stopped to check on her and see if she was alright.

"You!"

Her sad and sob solidarity was short lived as Nikolai yelled down the deserted hallway, Nina and Kerry scurrying behind her. Oskar and Sarah were further down the darkening corridor, the older brother trying to shrug off Lawson's restricting arm. Hesitantly, and completely ready to be bitched out, Shannon stood to face her girlfriend's father as he came towards her, pointing a crooked finger.

"You knew that it was...that Frank was involved in this?"

"He is responsible. Not was, she's not out of the woods yet," she replied. Whatever respect her tone usually held for the two parents was gone, replaced with a hard robotic version of herself, one that had a very small filter on her words. They were actually trying to defend their youngest son for any wrong-doings and involvement in illegal activities that caused their only daughter this level of harm. "Don't defend him, he is the one to blame for all of this."

"You didn't tell me. We talked and you didn't tell me. And don't give me that 'ongoing investigation' bullshit, Shannon." He was glaring at her, his face barely a few inches from her own. "We invited you into our home and into our family, and you knew this was going on."

"It's not as if I started dating Stella, so I could get him arrested. I didn't even find out he was dirty until your birthday party. He got his arse kicked in the car park," Shannon threw back. If he wanted to lay all of their cards on the table, she would show hers.

"She was involved with all of this nonsense."

"Stella wanted to help him! She knew he was in trouble, but he said no. He was so far in debt to the Mob, _the Mob_, that they went after his sister just because she knew he was dirty, not because she knew who he was involved with. It is his fault that she's lying there, hurt and helpless right now." He was slightly taken aback by her harshness, having not expected it to come back so easily and quickly. "You know that I love her. I would do anything to keep her safe, including busting her own brother. I'm sorry, but to me, he's just another dirtbag."

Shannon risked a glance at Kerry and the dumbfounded Nina, and the curious Oskar and Sarah who were still being held back by Lawson. Kerry nodded at her to get out of their sight, that it could keep going completely south if she stuck around. It was a few minute's walk back to the waiting room, giving Shannon enough time to clean herself up to hide any redness around her eyes.

She slumped into the seat next to Josh, barely registering that Christian wasn't there anymore. He didn't ask if she was okay, just simply put his arm around her calmly and sat there with her.

_"Look, I know we've never been the best of friends, but I like to think of you as a mate, even if you do hang crap on me for praying all the time," Christian smiled._

_It was true, Stella usually gave him some kind of grief, purely in a joking manner of course, about his strong beliefs in religion. The simple answer to that was that she had lost faith in her own, after coming out to her local minister in Ballarat just before the family moved to Bendigo. She had been picked on for her sexuality and the way she stood out from all of the other students, which resulted in a move. Her parents often said that it was a job offer for her father that caused them to pack up and move, but Stella had been fully aware of the conversations they had had with her principle about skipping class, and picking fights with the popular girls, and her choice of friendship with the outcasts._

_She had no issue with people's beliefs as a whole, as long as they didn't push them onto her. At this point, even she was willing to say a prayer she could hardly remember the words too, but Christian had her covered._

_"Annie and the kids are praying for you as well. So I'm going to say one for you now." He took her hand, giving her tingles again._

_"We pray for strength from heaven above as You grace her with your endless love. We pray for wisdom to understand as You lend her doctors a guiding hand. We pray for her family, that You impart continued hope within their hearts. We pray for her comfort, free from pain as her body becomes whole again. We pray You are with her day and night, preparing her future, healthy and bright. Fall all these things we humbly pray, as You carry her though these difficult days."_

_Usually, Stella would have complained about the Islander's investment in his beliefs and his hurriedness to tell everyone about it. But at the moment, she welcomed it and promised herself that if she woke up, she would pay a little bit more attention to what he actually say when his head was bowed, maybe even attend a church session again._

_"Amen."_

**_'Amen.'_**

_"You come back to us, Stel. We're all waiting for you."_

_Compared to everyone else's, Christian's visit was a short one. It wasn't that she didn't like him, but the break she got when he left was refreshing because now she could finally understand how serious her situation was. The words the Islander had said hit home, and Stella was screaming and crying and banging her fists on the ground because no one could hear her on the outside._

Shannon didn't know if Kerry was going to duck in to see Stella, or if Leon was coming to threaten her with spooning sessions. But after the display in the hallway by Nikolai, she was sure that Kerry would have her hands full trying to calm him down and stop him from either going after Frank or coming back into the ICU to yell at her some more.

Josh had yet to move after Christian walked past them on his way out, with a small smile and a wave goodbye. For the moment, he was happy to sit with Shannon while she attempted to grab her bearings. It was obvious to him that something had happened when she left to get the drink she left behind, she hadn't told him but her shoulders were slumped in defeat.

"You can go in a see her first if you want," he suggested softly.

"Not yet. You go."

"Is this going to turn into an argument? I really think that you should go first."

Shannon turned to glare at him. "I'm not ready yet."

For the second time in an hour, he had raised his hands in surrender. Okay, so it wasn't going to turn into an argument.

"Do you want me to sit with you a little longer?"

"She shouldn't be alone for too long. She needs to know we're all here," Shannon whispered. Another tear slipped out unexpectedly. The emotions that had come out by the vending machine hadn't been expelled completely, she was more than ready for another round, knowing that it was going to happen eventually.

"She needs to know that _you're_ here, Shan."

"I'm going for a walk. I'll come and see her when I get back."

"Shannon," Josh started, getting up to follow her.

"Josh!" Shannon exclaimed with wide eyes. "Please do not push me with this," she said, turning and walking away without another word.

Without a specific location in mind, Shannon set off blindly to walk throughout the hospital, leaving Josh to take his turn at Stella's side. She could feel his eyes boring into her back but that didn't bring her to a stop. She was free from his gaze when she rounded the corner, only to run smack-bam into Tash.

"Sorry," she mumbled. There was a little more sincerity when she realised who it was.

"That's okay." Tash's hand was on her elbow to keep her steady. "How are you holding up?"

"As good as can be expected."

"I was just on my way to check on Stella. Have you seen her yet?"

"No," Shannon said quickly. The blonde raised an eyebrow at the sudden response. "Josh is with her now."

Tash nodded before directing them to sit down on the hard, plastic hallway seats. The last thing Shannon wanted what a heart to heart with one of her best friend's girlfriend, a woman she barely knew. "You know, I remember when you were brought into the ED when I was at Epworth, for going over the handle bars on that motorbike. I saw how she looked at you that day. It was complete care. And then she kissed you, and it occurred to me that it was probably just a little bit more that simply caring."

"You saw that?" Shannon asked, thinking back to the day that she had been kidnapped by Andrew Kronin. It seemed a lifetime ago.

"Yeah."

"And you never told Josh? Because his suspicions seem awfully convenient," Shannon said.

"I never told him. Wasn't my place." Tash looked at her and sighed. "I've seen how well patients respond to having family and friends around to talk to them when they're in the hospital, whether they're awake or not. I've seen how well the family and friends respond when they talk to the patient. It won't just do Stella good for you to sit with her, you don' even have to say anything. It will do you some good too to finally see her."

Shannon knew that her tone was only giving advice, and not judging her having not been in to visit her girlfriend yet. When she spoke next, she tried to keep her voice level and calm, speaking only her mind even though she shouldn't have. "It's not my place to say," Shannon said quietly. "But you should have said yes."

_Stella could tell who it was from the weight of his footsteps, no matter how hesitant they actually were. Josh shuffled into the area surrounding the bed, taking everything in slowly; the chairs on either side of the bed that were dragged across the floor every time someone wanted to sit down, the monitors that beeped steadily in the background, the bandages and wires wrapped around and connected to Stella in some way or another._

_"You're a moll," he said, with nothing but complete seriousness. "Really, you are."_

**_'Thanks, Scarface.'_**

_"You get kidnapped and we have to run around like bloody chickens without heads trying to save your arse. Why am I always doing that, by the way?" He sat there, chuckling at his question, waiting for Stella to answer it._

_"And I know about you and Shannon as well, so when you wake up, I am going to give you an endless amount of crap. Why didn't you ever tell me fatty? You actually asked her out, and went through with it too. I want details, fatty."_

**_'And you want to know why I didn't tell you.'_**

_In her darkened prison, she was bent over laughing at his comments and questions. This was the best part about Josh, his humorous side that led to them picking on each other. She could hear Josh as he stood up and pulled something from his pocket. With a paper snap, something scratched and tingled the palm of her left hand._

_"Alright, I've given you your fifty bucks. I've paid up, so hurry up and put a smile on your girlfriend's face yeah? I don't know how much more of this she is going to be able to handle. She'll be in soon. If anything happens, I'll look after her, I promise."_

**_'I don't know what I would do without you Scarface,_**_' she said, meaning her words with a strong conviction she hardly ever used at all, with the exception of Shannon. Everything she said to that woman, she meant wholeheartedly._

_"You know Michael's being a such a prick about all of this," Josh said, still standing. "He actually said to Lawson's face before he came in, that you mean more to him that you do to the rest of us. Ohhh, if looks could kill, he would be dead three times over."_

**_'Tell the doctors to wake me up, so I can kill him myself.'_**

_"I'm going to go and find Shannon, make sure she hasn't made a run for it."_

_And then he did something that he had never done, and would deny for the rest of his days if anyone ever asked; he pressed his lips to the exact same place Michael had. The only thing was that his kiss meant something completely different._

Shannon had left Tash sitting slightly dumbfounded in the plastic seats. Further down, in the direction of the elevators there was yet another corridor. It stood out from the others in the hospital because of the windows on both sides that followed you most of the way down. She took her place exactly halfway down, staring out over the open car park and watching as a now former patient was escorted to a waiting car in a wheelchair, his wife walking beside him the whole way.

eShe glared at him, hating a man she didn't even know for being able to leave the hospital when Stella was stuck in a coma, lying in the bed hooked up to countless machines that were trying to keep her alive for a little while longer. It was a shame that there were no tables in the immediate vicinity or even a bay of lockers that she could take out her aggression. Without hesitation, Shannon would have buried her fist into the first solid object she came across. But she couldn't find a suitable piece of furniture to become her punching bag, leaving her emotions to be bottled up inside.

It was difficult not to let her fist connect with the thick panelled glass, as Josh had come up behind her and grabbed her by the elbow before it was possible. The glare that had been directed at the stranger outside was now aimed at Josh.

"Don't give me that. I know you're angry, but taking it out on hospital property is probably not the best idea you've ever had," he said, fixing her with a glare of his own.

She shrugged off his hand. "You didn't take very long."

"You've been standing here for too long. I gave her the fifty I owed her, and told her to get her act together."

"What a nice friend you are."

"Well, it would be the first time she's needed a good kick up the arse to get her moving."

"You didn't actually kick her up the arse did you?" Shannon deadpanned. "What am I supposed to say to her?"

"That you love her," Josh said. His expression was nothing but seriousness, but over the last few days, how often had there been laughter or a smile on anyone's face? "Do it now, or you'll chicken out. And _I'll_ call you chicken shit."

She looked down, almost ashamed at the fear she was expressing about seeing Stella, the woman she had claimed to love. "Josh."

"Chicken shit."

"Fine," Shannon exclaimed. "For fuck's sake, you're pushy. How did I ever put up with you?"

"You didn't, remember? Me and Lawson got into a fight over you and then it was over between us."

"Neither of you won, did you? I was your rebound," Shannon recounted, the memories coming back into her mind of the brunette sulking with a black eye and being pissy at the three of them for a few weeks after the whole thing.

"Will you stop talking to_ me_ and go and talk to _Stella_?" he asked, before swinging her around and pushing her back towards the ICU.

She stumbled initially, the movements mimicking her feelings about the task she was about to do. It was a long, harrowing walk back into the waiting room, Shannon's steps half the size of her usual ones. All of the nurses knew who the group had been waiting for; they all knew about the cop in the ICU, and the uniform that Shannon still had yet to change out of gave it away. As she took Michael's place against the far wall, the time escaped her once again. She was standing there long enough to see a nurse walk in, do the necessary checks and walk out again.

With a heavy breath, Shannon made her way into the bed bay, unable to stop the gasp that escaped her throat. Stella was cleaner than when they had found her, but she was still looking pretty bad. There was a white bandage around her head from her surgery, where there was no doubt a small area that had been shaved to allow for the incisions. Around her wrists were matching ones, holding down the gauze for the chaffing caused by the cuffs. The IV was hooked into the back of her hand, while there were wires coming out from under the neck of her issued gown.

Shannon had to clamp her hand over her mouth, to stop herself from vomiting. She left the room in a hurry, aiming for the nurse's station barely fifteen feet away.

"Excuse me," she said.

"Yes darling?" said a older woman, older than Nurse Hamilton looked to be.

Her eyes were red from her attempts to hold back the tears. "I was wondering where the personal belongings are, for her," she said, pointing into Stella's bay.

"Why are you asking?"

"Umm, there is a piece of jewellery with her things. It's mine." The nurse looked at her as if she was going crazy. She probably was. She held out the cross from underneath her shirt. "This is hers. It's a necklace with a ring on it. It's mine. Please."

"Hang on," the woman said. She disappeared for a few minutes, before coming back with the necklace in her hand. "Here. Don't tell anyone," she smiled.

_Someone had come and gone from her bed. She could hear them trying not to trip over on their way out again. When they came back, the fumbling was even louder before something cool was slipped onto one of her fingers. Shannon._

**_'Shannon!' _**_Stella yelled._

_"I love you, Stella," came out in shaky sobs. "I am fully prepared to spend the rest of my life with you, but I can't do that if you're in a coma, babe. Please."_

_That was it; the floodgates had broken completely for both women. Shannon was so close, yet so far away. All Stella had to do was lift a finger, or squeeze her hand a hard as she possibly could. It was already hard enough for Stella to be unable to move, but now, after everyone else's words, it was even worse to have to lay there as still as night and listen to Shannon's heart break._

_"You're the one I want to be able to start a family with one day. You are that person to me. You're the one for me. I've known it since our first date when you let win at mini-golf."_

_Stella had no idea that it was that serious for Shannon. She loved the other woman with all of her heart, but a long time ago, Stella had promised herself that she would wait, let herself get settled in the force and build up her career a little bit first. Now, she couldn't stop the images flooding into her mind._

**_'I want to wake up, I do. I just can't and I don't know why. I love you too.'_**

_"I am begging you to wake up, take as long as you need, but please wake up. That is all I ask." Shannon pressed her lips as closely to Stella's as she could, the ventilator pipe preventing her from doing so. She squeezed the hand she had slipped the ring onto and whispered one last 'I love you'._

That was as far as their one sided conversations went, because Stella's monitors began beeping erratically until one continuous sound rang out. Shannon was pulled from the bay with a simple 'you can't be in here', separated by the thin curtain as she asked question and after question about what was going on. The long beep didn't stop.

Thlthlthlt

Shannon had called Kerry the moment she had been kicked out of Stella's bay. It hadn't taken long until the entire team was back in the waiting room, cooped up with Stella's parents. The tension had increased tenfold, Nikolai still refusing to meet Shannon's eyes and the rest of his family following his lead. The watch that was around her wrist ticked by slowly, each second lasting ten times longer than it was supposed to. They had to wait for twenty four minutes and seventeen seconds exactly before anyone came out to explain the outcome.

There was a doctor who rounded the corner the same way Tash had earlier in the morning. The hospital's designated minister was standing a few feet behind him, to inform them of the procedure they could choose to follow, depending on certain religious beliefs.

"I'm sorry, but after trying to resuscitate her for close to twenty five minutes, given the injuries that your daughter sustained and the significance of the surgery she went through earlier, we were unable to revive her."


	31. The Fresh Start

**Yeah sorry, I posted the wrong thing and I didn't realised it...just kidding :D. ****Alright I figured after the whole death thing, that you've waited long enough. Let's see what you take from this. Please don't hate me. It's nice to know that I can make you all cry... lol**

**Peace out, I'm tired.**

* * *

The atmosphere surrounding them was half full of drunken patrons trying to celebrate the end of the work day and the Christmas spirit as loudly as they could. They all had something to celebrate, to make them feel happy and whole and full of excitement. Nothing could bring down their spirits. If only that were the case for the eight individuals slumped over and spread out across the bar, having taken the only spare seats they could find. In the four hours they had been sitting there, Stella's picture had been flashed twice on the few TV screens in each corner of the pub, announcing the end to her missing person's investigation and resulting death.

_"The Victorian Police Force is in mourning this afternoon with the death of one of their own,"_ said the news readers of both the four-thirty and the six o'clock editions, the first thing to leave their mouths after their thanks for tuning in speeches to the viewers. George, from behind the bar, had shut his patrons up with a loud wolf whistle, leaving everyone to turn to the screens obediently, before raising their glasses in tribute. Everyone except the members of Tactical Response; their eyes stayed focussed on their drinks while the droning voice faded out. The TR members were regulars at the establishment, and knew most of the people surrounding them at the present time. Now George understood why they had all been so quiet, ordering replacement drinks with the simple and silent flick of a hand.

Having filed in behind Kerry, Shannon had mistakenly taken the seat at the furthest end of the bar. She tensed the moment Oskar took the open seat next to her, and hadn't had a moment to release said tension since. He hadn't said anything to her, none of them had. Stella had died during her visit with the brunette. If they didn't put their blame on her, it was their pity and sympathy for being the one to watch. She was thankful for the silence between them, for fear of opening her mouth to speak, or even attempting to form words, and being openly reduced to tears.

Michael was the other end, trying to get them all involved in a game of 'do you remember when...'. Josh had smacked the boy across the back of the head with an open hand, trying to get him to hush and failing; he only got louder and a little more physical. He tried to start a fight, which was quickly stopped when Josh managed to get Michael into a headlock and threatened to throw him out of the pub for George. He had sat down, shrugging off the comforting hand on his shoulder to wipe away the few angry tears. His jaw was trembling with the effort it was taking him to maintain a relatively neutral face. Audrey was sitting next him, unsure of how to handle her boyfriends emotional side.

Kerry and Lawson were sitting in the middle of the bar, just as quietly as the rest of them, the Inspector becoming slightly more aggravated at the rowdiness behind her as each hour passed. As the one responsible for not only the team members, but the entire tactical branch, her mind was now twice as full as it had been when they were looking for Stella. Now she had to coordinate certain aspects of the police commissioned funeral, how much time she could afford to give them to accept the loss, to find considerable replacements to take the empty place and then run them by the team.

Leon had his head against the damp mat on top of the bar, hands linked across the dark mop he called hair. Occasionally he would raise his head high enough to take a gulp or to scull the remaining dregs at the bottom of the glass. They were the only signs of life that Leon had shown all night. Lawson would occasionally slap a hand down across his back just to get a response, just to make sure that they hadn't lost their favourite intelligence officer to alcohol poisoning. Despite her mind being beyond blank, it was obvious to Shannon that he felt a heavy amount of guilt weighing down on his shoulders. Now she understood what he had always been harping on about during his lectures; the feeling of failure.

Their presence in the pub was a tribute gesture in itself to their fallen sister and friend and lover, but none of them had actually spoken the words in the time that they had been there. Until Oskar's elbow left the bar, his glass barely foot above the polished oak. Being the one sitting next to him, Shannon noticed the brother's dedication and mimicked his actions. Slowly, each member around the bar copied them, Leon needing a little more encouragement to lift his head up.

"To Stella," Oskar mumbled through his tears.

"Stella," they all replied, their voices as weak as their spirits.

Shannon sculled the last of her scotch, stood from her seat with a slight wobble, dropped something in front of Oskar and left the bar without another word to anyone. Oskar glanced at everyone else to see if they saw that she had given him something, and when he came to the conclusion that none of them had looked up at her departure, his attention was moved to the object now in his hand under the bar top.

Stella's necklace.

He looked up, just in time to see the end of her jacket whip out of the doorway and the door slam behind her.

For an early summer's night, it was rather chilly as Shannon let herself become exposed to the elements. The last two hundred and sixty minutes had been spent in a complete mental blankness; she had removed the piece of jewellery at the hospital, a few minutes after the doctor had declared Stella dead, in a rash moment of judgement and shoved it in her pocket. It felt like Stella had given up on her, on all of them, and had no will to fight for her life. That necklace was the physical representation of Stella, whenever she wasn't with Shannon, one that was even stronger now that she was...dead. The brunette gave up on her, on her friends and her family, so why couldn't she do the same?

She didn't know where she was going, or how she was going to get wherever it was that she would eventually end up, all she did know was that she couldn't be in that pub, with the boys and with Oskar. It was beginning to hurt too much and there was no way that Shannon wanted them to see her break.

But nothing came and no one made an effort to chase after her in the hours that followed her semi-sudden disappearing act. No shrill rings or buzzes came from the phone in her pocket; she was lucky enough not to leave it or her wallet behind at the pub. Although it would had taken her off the grid completely. They all felt the same way she did to an extent, struggling to understand the loss they were experiencing. Stella meant something, no matter how small, to all of them. A metaphorical sister to the boys and a daughter to Kerry, a real child to her parents and a sibling to her brothers, a best mate to everyone and a girlfriend to Shannon. Shannon briefly wondered what would be written on Stella's gravestone, images coming to her a little too easily and quickly, before she was shaking the thoughts from her mind.

She could only handle one thing at a time, and thinking about burying her girlfriend was too painful. Her straying thoughts would have been interrupted either way, because she hadn't noticed where she was going and her hip connected strongly with one of the several concrete poles sitting near the garage door of the garage door at the base. As usual, it was sitting ajar with the sparse abundance of cars littering the car park, her own sitting where she had left it the day before. Junior officers were probably hurrying around inside to finish and organise their paperwork and files so they wouldn't have to cop anything from a more-emotional-than-usual Kerry, and her band of not-so-merry followers.

The pain in her hip from running into the yellow barrier pole was there and gone almost instantly, within a few seconds. It didn't match up to the ache in her heart, so it was put on the emotional back burner until everything levelled out once again in the future. No doubt she would wake up with a bruise marring her pale skin. Her mind wasn't registering the small things that would have normally resulted in a larger reaction of a howl of pain and a small dance to shake off the unpleasant pressure. With a small limp, Shannon squeezed her way through the narrow gap in the standard warehouse doors and looked around.

Three days ago this place, that was basically the teams second home, was buzzing with a positive energy, its employed assemblage throwing jokes around with the occasional prank of shaving cream in shoes, or betting on arm wrestling matches to make up for how shitty they felt about things they saw or experienced on the job. Now, Shannon felt rather small and vulnerable as everything in the garage sat unmoving, calm and quiet as if nothing had gone wrong. There was the rare noise from the offices, but they were too faint penetrate Shannon's mind; a thousand transparent Stella's were running around the cars, making a coffee in the kitchen, hiding from Josh or Lawson, and demanding piggy-back rides from Michael, all the while checking the cars and its possessions with an experienced lack of professionalism that only Stella could manage.

Her hands were buried in her jacket pockets as she became immersed in her memories, shuffling along. Shannon's head would turn on irregular intervals, following as many stories as she could at once, preferring to watch the more recently made memories. The two of them ducked into the change-rooms, shared a word in the kitchen and snuck in a kiss, Kerry catching them trying to be sneaky.

Shannon couldn't even remember the walk over from the doors to their lockers, past the cars and the kitchen and utility cupboards. She couldn't remember sitting down on the floor, her knees pressed into her chest as her back touched the seating block in the middle of the room. Four feet to her left was her own locker, her keys, her bag, her street clothes sitting in there for her to change into at the end of her shift. Four feet in front of her was Stella's locker, holding the things she would never need again; house keys and phone taking up space on the only shelf, clothes rolled into a careless pile on top of her backpack at the bottom, the photos stuck to the back wall on the top shelf.

In the six foot tall and two foot wide container in front of her, was in a sense, everything that made Stella, Stella. The perfume she uses, the hair products that she ignores because she stole Shannon's all the time, the style of clothes she wears...wore. When Shannon realised that she could only refer to Stella in a past tense, something in side of her snapped. There was an anger building inside of her rapidly, and anyone who crossed her would most likely regret it.

One of her boots stomped on the concrete floor as hard as she could manage, and given her current seating arrangements, it wasn't as hard as she thought she could pull off. Shannon didn't care that if anyone looked into the locker room at that very moment because of the incessant sound of boots clapping loudly against the floor, they would see her now standing, looking like a petulant child at the beginning of a world class tantrum.

Once again, she was left alone entirely to vent her frustrations. Anyone still in the building knew to leave well enough alone when there was anyone severely angry. The typical procedure was to let them do the damage and then assess the situation a few hours later, or even the next morning, to do a cleanup. A crashing bang echoed throughout the open space and everything seemed to stand still again. Shannon looked at the chair as it tipped over onto its side on the other side of the bench press, having taken down from free weights with it when it was thrown across the room.

The damage to the equipment was minor, but it wasn't enough. She was still angry. No, she wasn't angry. Livid was more accurate description. Enraged, bitter, pissed off with no end in sight. Her victim was the equipment and the furniture paid for by the police force, and essentially the Australian Government. The bin in the corner was first in a tirade of many. Her standard issue boots were pushing the rubbish container against the wall repeatedly, the metal handle digging into Shannon's shin almost painfully, if she was at all aware of it.

When she was caught off balance during her outburst, her elbow was snagged by the locker on the end, Josh's, and then bin was left behind as a fist and a scuffed boot began attacking the metal door continuously and without pause. Josh wasn't going to be happy when he walked in next and was unable to open the door's latch because the door itself had been pushed in so far to the point that it was jammed closed. A small smearing of blood was dotting the bony colour scheme two thirds of the way up; Shannon had broken the skin on her knuckles in her frustration. It didn't bother her in the slightest, but if she didn't stop soon, the brick wall behind the lockers would be next.

Shannon's anger was never ending at the point, but even that wasn't enough to keep her arms and legs going in her vicious attack. Blow after blow was landed dead centre of the door until there was a sharp pain in her shoulder and she was left sitting on the floor, writhing in pain. It was the shoulder she had dislocated those few months ago. Her breathing was quick and shallow, a thin layer of sweat had made itself at home across her forehead, as her hand gripped her shoulder.

The broken skin on the back of her hand was beginning to sting and combined with the searing pain in her shoulder, Shannon couldn't stop the tears that began streaming down her face. Before she knew it, it wasn't simply the physical that left her crying on the cold concrete floor, it was the emotional ones as well. The ones that came with losing somebody, no matter how much or how little you cared for them.

The wall she had built up from the moment she had found Stella to be missing had been crumbling slowly at first, and then faster and faster until she was left with nothing to protect her from the tsunami of emotions that were barrelling down towards her. At the pub, there had been something keeping her a float, but it had been getting more difficult, that was why she left them all sitting there staring into their half empty pots and upturned shot glasses. Now she was drowning in the middle of an ocean of tears and there was no one nearby to save her. Or so she thought.

"What did the locker door do to you?"

"It was there," Shannon growled through clenched teeth.

"I was expecting this place to look worse by morning," Kerry admitted, brushing a piece of discarded uniform aside to sit on the block.

The grief was evident on Kerry's face, when Shannon finally looked up with watery eyes. "Well, I'm sure the boys still have time to do some damage if they wanted."

"You okay?" the Inspector asked quietly, over the soft groans of pain coming from Shannon.

"What do you think?"Shannon snapped back, feeling that she had no real reason to regret it until she was in control of her emotions again.

"I meant your shoulder. It looks painful."

Kerry's voice wasn't getting louder, or angrier, or even more threatening as it normally would when someone jerked her around. She was patient and calm, the way she had to be for her team. Getting upset with a grieving girlfriend wasn't a good idea for anyone involved.

"How about I take you home after you get that shoulder checked out at the hospi-"

"No!" Home meant even more memories, on top of the fact that she was half drunk, so everything would be ten times as emotional once the adrenaline wore off. She had spent twelve hours over the last two days in a hospital waiting for her girlfriend to wake up, only to have her be declared deceased.

"Stella wouldn't want-"

"Don't you dare!" Shannon threatened, struggling to stand up but managing eventually. A finger was pointed in Kerry's direction, as her bloody knuckles were squeezed between her knees to hold her shoulder in place. "It is too soon to play the Stella card. She hasn't even been...gone...for an entire day and your pulling that one out, already?"

She groaned heavily and let out the breath she didn't have slowly. Shannon had popped her shoulder back in by herself.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Definitely too soon. Way, way too soon. But it is true."

"If she were here, I wouldn't be trying to beat the shit out of metal cupboards and a bin Kerry! I wouldn't be this angry!"

"But you are." Kerry nodded nonchalantly. Shannon wasn't the first cop to lose someone the way she had, and she wasn't the first one that Kerry had to deal with. "At least let me check your shoulder and your hands. Because I'm not letting you walk out of here in a now tattered police uniform."

Shannon resigned herself to her fate and reluctantly dropped down next to Kerry, uttered a quick 'fine' and finally noticed the rips in her pants, halfway up her shins. The bin had gotten in some damage as well, it seemed, as she finally saw the ripped shins of her pant leg and oozing scrapes beneath. Even though the furniture had done a number on her, she had done her bit in anger; Josh's locker was jammed shut as a result of the door being pushed in so far, one side of the bin was now bent in half, and Stella's locker was smeared with blood at shoulder height and the bottom vent was kicked in.

Without even realising, Shannon grabbed the gauze Kerry was going to use on her shin, limped over to the door and began scrubbing at the blood ferociously. Despite Kerry's protests for her to stop and sit down, Shannon didn't stop until the red stains were gone. Her blood on the door was an instant reminder of how and when they found Stella, bloodied and bruised and apparently on the edge of death. Her once blank mind was now unable to remove the image of Stella covered in blood and tied to that chair and utterly broken.

Kerry didn't stop the grieving woman from her sudden obsessive cleaning routine. It was better that she get it out of her system than for it to be pushed deep inside of her to fester until it grew so large that a more public explosion of emotion was inevitable.

"Shannon, it's clean," Kerry said. Her words fell on deaf ears so hard that the Inspector actually had to stand and snatch the now worn patch of gauze from the frenzy that was Shannon's hand trying to scrub a clean surface clean. "It's clean," she whispered. "Come on."

There were a few minutes of obvious deliberation from Shannon, until a mental switch was flicked and her mind seemed to go blank again. Kerry was able to direct her back to the block to finish playing nurse. She knew that this was the most she was going to see of the expected break down that was no doubt coming, but she feared that any offer of compassionate leave would only push Shannon further away and over the edge. She could handle the Senior Sergeant and any erratic behaviour that may come of the loss if she was able to keep any eye on her.

Shannon had begun to shake; Kerry was unsure if it was the woman coming down from the adrenaline high and her newly developed injuries, or if she was beginning to crash. Shannon had had less sleep than the rest of them, and for those who knew, they understood and had silently vowed to keep a closer eye on her, but there was only so much they could do when the woman would bottle her emotions up until she snapped.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Kerry asked, once she finished wrapping Shannon's hand and taping down the gauze on her shin. "Shannon?"

"What?" came back at her in a surprisingly neutral tone.

"Get changed, I'm gonna take you home."

"No," Shannon said, looking up from her seat. Her voice may have been unwavering and unwilling to show any real emotion, the quietness thickness in her voice gave it away. "Someone has to clean out her locker."

"I'll take care of it, don't worry about that," Kerry assured her.

Shannon just shook her head. "I want to do it," she stressed. "I need too."

"How much have you had to drink tonight?"

"I had three drinks."

Kerry eyed her almost suspiciously, her arms crossed over her chest with her usual questioning expression on her face. She had just put the first aid kit back into its place on the top shelf in the utility cupboard at the end of the row of lockers. "You don't owe anyone anything, Shannon. Not when it comes to something like this."

"I know that. But...it's Stella. I know that she meant something to you too, but it should be done by someone other than the boss." She added as an afterthought, "No offence."

"None taken," Kerry smiled grimly. "Are you sure that you want to do that? Because if you clean it out, you're the one who is going to have to give it to her parents."

"I think it would mean just a little bit more, if I did it. And not just to me, Kerry," Shannon begged.

"Alright. You get changed, and I'll get you a box." Kerry sighed and left the locker room slowly and quietly. The last thing she really wanted to do was to leave Shannon alone in her semi distressed state, considering the grieving woman's attitude now the calm before the storm, but some privacy was probably best.

Shannon took her time getting changed, now becoming fully aware of the stench that her uniform had developed over the previous days. Being slightly off balance, it was a little bit more difficult for Shannon to actually remove her clothes one by one and stuff them into the bottom of her locker, and then to pull on the street clothes she hadn't worn in two days. By the time her trackeys had been pulled up and tied off and her hoodie zipped up, Kerry had managed to return, drop off a packing box and leave again.

She took a deep breath and lifted the latch, and instantly the oh so familiar scent that was Stella hit her senses. Her backpack had been dropped at the bottom the morning of the day she went missing. Her toiletries bag was stuffed into a corner on the top shelf, sitting next to little bits and pieces. Her phone had died the day before, the iPhone's password having been punched in dozens of time just so Shannon could scroll through the photo reel.

Photos were stuck to the inside of the door and opposite the yellow bag holding bathroom necessities. The ones on the door were of her second family; Leon and Stella pulling faces during a night out, a team photo of the original TR gang with Grace and Dom, the new team with Christian and Shannon. Opposite the bag was one of her and Oskar at a birthday party, from the balloons in the background probably Mark's or Robbie's. Nina and Nikolai were smiling politely into the camera, hugging their daughter from both sides as she pulled another face. One by one, they were pulled down and piled, dropped into the box on top of Stella's backpack.

It wasn't until she pulled down the family portraits that something caught Shannon's eye. It had fallen from her hand, fluttering down to land upside down on the pair of sneakers that had been underneath the bag. Shannon bent over and picked it up slowly, turning it in her fingers to see the brunette grinning into the camera proudly as Shannon pressed a smiling kiss to her cheek. It had been one of their lazy Sunday morning, sleeping in for as long as they could manage. They hadn't pulled themselves from the comfort of the bed until close to noon, having spent several hours kissing and touching playfully, Stella having pulled her camera out once she realised that she wasn't going to get any more than a kiss and the urge for a cold shower.

Shannon's head fell against the side of the open locker, smiling at the memory with a strong sense of pride and love swelling up inside her. She left it on the top shelf just as the sawn off piece of her old belt the boys had chopped up. That was going to be a curious story to tell her dead girlfriend's parents. It was placed carefully into the box again. Other than the single photo still on the shelf, the only thing that was still in there was a can of shaving cream. Shannon smirked, shook the can and opened Michael's locker. It was close to empty when she polished it off in his shoes, and dumped the wasted can into the ruined bin.

With the last photo in her hand, Stella's locker was now completely empty and there was one last quiet rattle, before the door was closed. The only thing that would ever tie Stella to TR, other than her records, was the name tag in the small bracket. She shuffled over to her own locker, opened the door and tucked it half behind one of the photos on the inside. The boy's lockers were on the other side of hers, so the only person who would really see it would be Leon. She traced the outline of Stella's face before closing the door, and slipping Stella's name tag behind hers on the front of the locker.

The lid was set carefully onto the top of the box and that was it. The part of Stella that was theirs, that was hers, was now packed away in a cardboard container for her parents to rummage through and put on the highest shelf in her childhood bedroom.

She sat for...she wasn't quite sure how long exactly, hugging the box in her lap as she tried to prepare herself to part with the relatively meaningless possessions, and to face the Dagostino Seniors. What she would say, if her brain was able to form anything at all, filtered in and out of her mind until the early hours of the morning when the quiet echo's of shoe soles making their way across the garage pulled her out of the mist of thoughts.

She looked up to see Oskar with his hands buried in his jean pockets and dried tears across his face. "What cha got there?" he asked almost painfully.

"Stella's things," she whispered back. It was the first real words they had spoken to each other for a few days; Shannon didn't include their story telling session at the hospital while they were waiting for permission to visit Stella. "I was going to give them to your parents this morning, seeing as these are now theirs."

"Fair enough," he agreed. "Speaking of rightful owners..."

Oskar walked forwards cautiously, took one of Shannon's hand and dropped something into the now open palm. Shannon couldn't help but to shake her head in shock. "This doesn't belong to me. It belongs to your parents."

"That's where you're wrong. It's a family tradition to give these to one we love. Stella gave it to the one she loves. It's rightfully yours Shannon."

"Loved," Shannon corrected him. "She's gone Oskar. And she's not coming back."

"I know. Which is it is more important for you to keep it," he insisted, taking a seat next to her. "Once a week we have a conversation, a 'd' and 'm' if you will. And the first thing that would usually come out of her mouth usually had something to do with you. For my baby sister, you are the one."

Shannon smiled genuinely at his words. "She _was_ the one for me too. And then she gave up, she stopped fighting. She left us here alone! She's never gonna see your child born, she's never gonna see the boys grow up. How can you be okay with that?"

"Because it's not her fault, because I love my sister. And I always will. Just like I know you will." His usually strong and straight jaw was unshaven and trembling with the effort it was taking him not to cry again.

He had sat there at the bar in a very public place crying over his scotch with a necklace in his hand, much to the looks he was getting from the rest of the pubs patrons. Shannon had no idea how he could simply accept the loss of his sister, his only best friend other than his wife, and discuss her life without shedding a tear. Why did he have it so easy while Shannon was sitting there struggling harder than she ever had before?

He gave her a brief sideways hug. "Remember her as best you can. That's how you will be okay. Because you had time with her and you got to make those memories with her."

Shannon simply hugged the box tighter as its lid became damp with her stray tears. Oskar made a move to take the box. She knew that she should give it to him, because he was family and it meant that she didn't have to face Nikolai considering their argument at the hospital. But her emotions were already being pushed down.

"I would like to give it to them."

"How about we go and do that now? I doubt they've been to sleep at all tonight, and I'm sure Sarah's worried. About both of us." Shannon obviously hesitated. After the confrontation in the middle of the hall outside of the ICU, Shannon was surprised to hear that oskar still considered her a close friend, even possibly family. "If you don't do it now, you won't do it all."

"Probably not a good idea to leave your pregnant wife to take care of your parents at the moment," Shannon agreed, standing stiffly. He hadn't asked her about her injuries, mostly likely having made the connection when he saw the damage around the locker room. He didn't even bother blaming her for beating the crap out of the locker room, he felt the same way, but he had absolutely no energy anymore.

Before he was able to steer her out of the locker room and eventually the base, Shannon took a moment to stare at the necklace in her hand before setting the box down and clipping the chain back around her neck. Shannon stood, took the box and leaned into Oskar's open arm as they headed out into the grey morning.

* * *

"Where in the hell am I?" she groaned, her voice weak and the words slurred. Pale greeny-brown eyes flittered open slowly, eyelids heavy. It was a blurry image as she was finally able to make out the terribly patterned roof tiles. The muscles in her neck were stiff as she tried to look around the small room. There was a hospital curtain drawn in front of the door the led out to the hallway; she could hear some faint shuffling back and forth.

There was a small floor to ceiling cupboard that was just as bland as the rest of the bare decor in the room. The sheets beneath her fingers were scratchy and uncomfortable when she tried to move them, and her senses were dulled under a blanket of pathetically strong painkillers. She could move her fingers and her neck, but that was the extent of her abilities; her legs were weighty, the left more than the right. It was impossible to lift her arms, mostly because of the pain in her shoulders, but also partly because the drugs in her system.

It hurt to breathe; she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Her head was pounding and the light that was coming in through a window off to one side was only making it worse. When she coughed because the back of her throat was drier than the Australian outback, everything hurt, and it left her shaking and rattling in the bed. At the incessant sound of metal on metal, she was finally able to comprehend the silence and take in the cuffs chaining her to the railing.

That beeping was gone. There weren't any noisy machines off to her side. It was mostly silent, except for when her voice croaked out as loudly as she could.

"Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," came back at her a few seconds later, cutting off the weak yells that came from the back of her throat. An older lady, close to the age of her mother, snapped the curtain back to look at her with a sympathetic smile. "It's nice to see you awake, Miss Grey."

Grey? Who the hell was Miss Grey? "What?" she tried to ask, but was cut off by the half full cup of water being tipped into her mouth.

"Now, there's no need to worry about the restraints, they are simply precautionary."

The look in her eyes was nothing but confusion. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, dear. A militarye ba hospital just outside Kyneton. You were in an accident. The doctor will be in, in a little while to explain everything to you." The woman set about checking the vitals on the machine as she watched on quietly, before leaving her to lie there quietly and alone in her bed.

"Hey!"

The nurse stuck her head back in through the door, "if you give me any trouble Miss Grey, I will not hesitate to sedate you, do you understand?"

The brunette nodded. "Can I at least sit up?"

"Yes you can."

With her standard issue hospital bed now sitting at a forty-five degree angle, her ribs throbbed until she fell back into her slumber.

When she woke again, there was a man standing at the end of her bed, scribbling something down into the chart in his hands. He looked up to the feeling of being stared at, and saw her glancing at her behind weighted eyelids.

"I'm Doctor Abrams, Lieutenant, Australian Army. Do you know where you are Miss Grey?"

"Hospital. And why do you keep calling me that?"

"Do you know the date?" She shook her head slowly. "If I said it's been two weeks since the last date you remember, what would you say?"

It took her few moments to try and figure out if this guy was being serious, if he was actually a doctor and then to remove the fog from her mind again to do the math. It was just before Christmas, the twentieth. Fourteen days later made it, "January third, two thousand and eleven?"

"Two thousand and eleven, that's right." He nodded slowly to her, sighed and waved out into the hallway. "That's very good, Miss Grey."

She flinched when he came closer to gauge her pupils. "Why am I handcuffed to this bed? And why do you keep calling me that? It's not my name."

"Because that _is_ your name." A woman had appeared in the doorway, and she had a stern look on her face, like someone trying to convince a friend to go along with the joke or a prank and be suss about it.

"What is going on here?" she pleaded.

But her questions fell on deaf ears. The Doctor Abrams had started pointing things out to this blonde haired and blue eyed mystery woman in the chart and the x-rays on the light screen opposite the bed. The doctor was thanked, offered a polite nod to the brunette and left the room, shutting the door behind him on the way out.

"What the hell is going on?" she begged again.

"My name is Jane Donovan, AFP. And Stella Dagostino? She's dead to the world."

Stella's stomach dropped ten floors. "That's very funny Donovan. If that even is your real name."

"Would you like to see my credentials?"

Stella had a feeling that if they didn't get down to business soon, the bantering they had quickly developed could go on for hours. "Yes I would." A badge was dropped onto the bed in front of her, directly into her lap. It took some effort, but Stella concluded that it was genuine, and she had seen some Federal badges in her few years in the force.

"Alright, I believe you. Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on?" Stella spat. The cuffs rattled with the effort she used.

"There is no need to get snippy Leah."

"My name is not Leah."

"It is now." Stella looked at her angrily, like a child who was sick of playing a game because they couldn't win. "You've been in a medically induced coma for fourteen days. In that time, Stella has died and been buried. You don't exist anymore because you've been entered into a protection program."

"I don't want your protection. I don't need your protection. I just want to go home."

"You can't. If they knew you were alive, you would be high on their list of targets. Because of the unusually short lived torture you were submitted to, you found with Connor Barry and several employees, they have all be arrested and are awaiting trial for the murder of a police officer."

"But I'm not dead."

"But you are," Agent Donovan repeated. "Stella Dagostino was declared dead December twenty third, two thousand and ten. I assure you that this is for yours and your family's protection. Now I'm happy to answer whatever questions you have that I can."

"Do any of them know?"

"That you're alive? No."

"What's happening to Frank?"

"On trial for treason, accepting illegal tenders from known criminals, and being an accomplice in your death." Stella spat something out that was halfway between a snicker and a sigh.

A silence settled over them as more questions flowed in and out of Stella's mind. The life she had known, the one she had created for herself, was gone. The life she had planned out was over. The one that had briefly came into her mind after Shannon's admission disappeared in a puff of smoke; the house, the two point five kids, even marriage if it was legalised in the future. "How long am I going to be stuck here?"

"In the hospital? Until the doctors clear you. And then you'll be moved to a safe house for a short time while we get everything set up for you. Somewhere to live, a job, etcetera, etcetera."

Her answers were short and bitter, straight to the point. Stella's heart broke with every explanation that was given. "Why am I handcuffed to the bed?"

"We weren't sure how you would react. And you are under AFP protection on an army base. Doesn't matter who you are, they don't know you. There's an MP outside the door. I did tell them to swap them out for a soft restraint, but apparently they didn't listen. I'll have it removed."

"And what's wrong with me?" she asked, just as she shifted the pressure in her ribs became just a little too unbearable.

"Your knee is fucked. Patella is smashed, tendons severely damaged. Surgery and physical therapy for a few months. The doctor will explain everything in more detail if you like. You will need to know your rehabilitation program. Ribs are cracked, rotator cuffs in your shoulders are worn and there was some swelling on your brain which has been relieved but if your memory is a little sketchy , it's expected."

"How long am I expected to be in witness protection for?"

"Until Anton Buczek is either killed or convicted in a trial. It might be a long time, you need to prepare yourself for that but I swear that this really is the best thing."

"How can this be the best thing? My family is in mourning because I died. My girlfriend is probably going out of her mind with grief, and the boys are probably just as bad."

"You realise that you put yourself up on a pedestal when you talk about them? That is one inflated ego."

"No, that's family." Stella glared at Agent Donovan, who took a deep breath and began a long winded speech. Her demeanour was obvious getting upset with Stella's attitude but in Stella's defence, this woman should have seen it coming.

"The doctor is going to come in and explain everything before his rounds are over. You will be discharged into Federal Custody in the coming days or weeks and moved to a safe house where you will meet your handler, and be fully briefed on your new life. This person will be responsible for you until you understand the rules. From here you cannot and will not contact anyone from your previous life. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Stella snapped, trying to cross her arms and failing with a pinch of pain from the cuffs on her wrist.

"The staff here know you as 'Leah Grey'. They think you were in a car accident. I'm pretty sure that your nurse and doctor have connected a few dots, but they're not asking questions, so I don't care. Play dumb with some memory loss until you're released."

Donovan's attitude had turned snarky quickly and Stella was left alone again when the Federal Agent huffed her away out of the room. The emotions that had built up during their conversation had easily worn her out and 'Leah' found herself heading for the place she feared the most now: the unknown.

* * *

**Well? Do I live to write another chapter?**


	32. The Beginning Of Change

**Alright I know it took me a long time, but I got to 7k and then I accidentally deleted about 600 words and then I had to try and remember most of it and then it ended up being different so yeah. It's been a little hectic lately, I've been out and about, my social life has increased dramatically, my nephew was born yesterday and I've been hitting the gym pretty hard lately. Or at least trying too. My internets also fucking died so I am very angry at Optus right now.**

**Now I need something from you guys. Next chapter: purely Stella or purely Shannon or both as usual? Keep in mind that season 4 will come into play soon for Shannon and a special surprise for Stella. And because I said the word surprise, you're all probably gonna choose Stel. Am I right?**

**Carla Leigh - thanks for letting me off**

**Hereford - you had better let me live, otherwise my ideas die with me and you'll never know if they get reunited.**

**In A Rush - I did not make you stay up to 2 am to read it, you just couldn't wait. Admit it.**

**LOVE the Rush - Just you wait my friend**

**SSAPrentiss - Now you get to see how they are and aren't coping with Stella's 'death'. There will be a blow up between the TR guys in the next chapter.**

**K - your next chapter**

**spbabe9 - I thought we'd all already covered the whole killing me part.**

* * *

In the days that she spent in the secure wing of the Army base's hospital, having gone in and out of surgery twice for her knee, Stella had come to a conclusion about a few things despite her drugged up coherence. One, there was no chance that she could 'escape' or make a phone call, send an email or even a text. She couldn't even walk let alone hop, so making a run for it was entirely out of the question. Two, Federal Agents of the Australian government, more specifically Agent Donovan would be becoming a more permanent fixture in her new lifestyle.

Her private room didn't even have a TV, so she couldn't even check the current affairs or even the cricket scores just to cure her boredom. She had no idea what was going on in the outside world, and she was itching for even a scrap of news of something, of anything to fill in some of the blanks that were evident in her memory. There was always a guard standing at attention outside her door, although Stella was unsure if it was to keep people out for her protection or to keep her in.

While her restraints had been removed entirely, her time was silent and lonely, with the exception of the occasional visit from the nurses to check her vitals and her dressings, and the surgeon to double check his work. None of them ever said anything to 'Miss Leah Grey' other than asking what she wanted for breakfast or how she felt in the morning. Every question was answered the same way, with a non-committed shrug before her bed was wheeled off in the direction of the radiology department for even more tests.

It had been a week since she had woken from the medically induced coma and discovered her apparent death. So far, all of her anger had been focussed into her newly organised physical therapy. While she only attended a few sessions, having still been looked down upon by the Army hospital staff members for being a civilian, her trainer had blatantly noted within five minutes of meeting her that she was far too angry with herself, that she could burn herself out and do more damage than healing. She had huffed at the woman, pushed herself a little too hard in the moment and fell over howling in pain. All she got was a look of 'I told you so' and a stern instruction to calm down and do it again.

By the time she was able to walk with the aid of a walker or a cane, her doctor declared her able to be discharged. Agent Donovan had fought with him over the news, saying that maybe a few more days with an actual therapist would do Miss Grey some good. In actual fact, the safe house wasn't completely ready for Stella's arrival and her handler was having some difficulty getting there, not that the federal agent could tell him that. His clearance simply wasn't high enough, but Doctor Abrams had put his foot down and his superior officers were behind him. They barely had enough room for the war heroes and fools who tripped over their shoelaces during training, so taking on a civilian for a longer period of time than what had been agreed upon was out of the question.

Stella had to admit that she was curious as to how the whole 'being in a safe house while expected to attend physical therapy' situation was going to happen. The whole point of being in a safe house was to be hidden from everyone outside of the immediate circle of those involved, in an undisclosed location. The whole purpose would be defeated if she attended regular sessions with one therapist at the same place. There was no doubt in here mind that during her rehabilitation, she would have to see her surgeon for a follow up at least.

"Get dressed," came at her as Agent Donovan strolled into her room, in her usual gray suit jacket and the visitors badge clipped to the front pocket. She dropped a bag onto the end of the bed as Stella was carrying herself back and forth across the length of her room on her elbow height crutches, trying to bear as much weight as she could on her left knee. It was the subscribed 'homework' her therapist had set her. Surprisingly, Stella wasn't becoming as frustrated with herself as she had been during her first attempts.

She answered the woman only when she made it back to her bed. "What, are you blind? I am dressed."

"I meant in something a little more presentable," she noted, waving a hand that was holding some loose sheets of paper in Stella's direction.

"Like what? I don't have anything anymore." Stella scoffed, wincing as she tried to hoist herself up onto the bed.

"There are clothes in the bag. You've been released into my custody. We leave in an hour so get dressed. If you need help, I'm sure a nurse will help you," Donovan demanded. She stuck her head out of the door looking both ways, and demanded that a nurse help Stella change immediately. She was scowled at by the nurse as soon she walked into the room. "Just help her. The sooner you do that, the sooner we can get out of your hair."

Stella muttered an apology to the nurse as her knee brace was undone and track pants were slipped up her legs. When they were necessarily tied neatly at her waist seeing as she had dropped a few kilo's as a result of the stress she found balancing precariously on her shoulders, the brace was returned to its position. It had to be adjusted a few times to compensate for the material bunching up. "I can handle it from here, thank you," she smiled. This woman had been nothing but nice to her.

It was a small struggle for Stella to balance herself without her crutches, shrugged her standard hospital gown over her shoulders before pulling on the basic grey t-shirt. It was hard for her to not shake her head at the cliché AFP in white across the back of the windbreaker at the bottom of the bag.

The nurse came back after a few minutes, with Donovan trailing behind her. "Alright, your rules. Use the shower chair until your physio says you can stop. For now you use your crutches until your physio says you can stop. Can you see the pattern here?"

"Yeah, nothing major until my imaginary physio says so," Stella said sarcastically.

"Will someone be staying with her?" the nurse asked, turning to Donovan.

"Live in nurse. Who is also aware of whatever progress _Miss Grey_ has made with the hospital's physical therapist."

"Very well. Just in case, I'm going to show you how to change your dressings and explain your medications to you. I just feel I have to let you know beforehand that you when you leave, it will be in a wheelchair. Now you can try to get it out of your system in the next thirty minutes."

It took exactly half an hour for the nurse to run through everything she said she would. Donovan was getting rather antsy as she stood by the door, tapping the toe of her shoe for every second of every minute that passed. Since waking up, Stella had learnt to ignore her easily. The small duffel bag was soon loaded with sterile strips, infection cream, bandages, spare gauze, tegaderm patches, her painkillers, and a spare set of plain clothes. The nurse shoved in the printed instructions on top of the small pharmacy that seemed to have developed in her bag.

"Put your jacket on," Donovan ordered in a tone that reminded Stella of her mother.

"It's like thirty-five degrees out here," Stella said, having just shoved said jacket into the bag now sitting in her lap.

"It's called air conditioning. We'll be in for a long drive and you don't have a choice in the matter so please, put it on."

"Wow," Stella remarked.

"What?" The blonde that was pushing her wheelchair drawled.

"You have manners."

"Jacket," Donovan ordered again, having stopped in the middle of the small car park that was filled with the typical green hum vees. There were the occasional trucks carrying a dozen or so soldiers. In the distance to their left were various courses; obstacle training, weapons training, running track, each one filled with sparsely with soldiers in their practical uniforms. Now behind them as Stella's chair was directed towards what looked like to be a dark blue minivan, there was the shooting range.

There were two men standing besides the typical black SUV, and another two by the minivans driver's side door. All three of them had the exact same jacket that Stella was playing with in her hands. She was already sweating from the extreme heat and she was only in trackies and a t-shirt, whereas these agents were all in suit pants and ties and windbreakers yet there wasn't a bead of perspiration sliding down their foreheads. At the sight of Agent Donovan and Stella being wheeled across the lot, they all stood up straighter; it was obvious that she was the one in charge among this team.

"At ease, boys," Stella smirked.

They all simply stared at her through their tinted sunglasses, waiting for the actual instructions from their boss. Stella eyed the men in front of her, noticing the bulge under both arms of each of them. The one in the middle had an extra one around his ankle.

"Scott, you're in the van with me and _Miss Grey_ here. Morgan, you're driving. Tedford and Stanton, you follow at least half dozen car lengths behind at all times. Try to make it look like you aren't following us. And keep in radio contact."

"If I'm so important, why is there only one protection detail car?" Stella asked.

"Hey, if you don't want our protection..." one of them trailed off. It was the second furthest from Stella as she tried to stand from the chair.

"I don't want your protection. Feel free to go home, drop me off on your way."

"Neither of you have a choice. Now get in the cars, we need to move like yesterday," Donovan ordered, not even bothering to help Stella out of the chair as she rounded the back of the van and jumped into the front passenger seat. "And put on the damn jacket Grey!"

Stella limped to the now open side door, shoved her bag into who she guessed was Morgan's chest, followed by her crutches. "Thanks for the help."

"I thought you didn't want my help?" He said, just as Stella managed to half crawl across the middle seat.

"I don't. Just thought you would have the decency to help a cripple," she sneered.

It was an awkward seating arrangement. This Agent Scott was sitting in the third row of seats, his belt already buckled as he watched her struggle. She had to lean against the passenger side window, her braced leg hanging off the side lopsidedly with her ankle balancing on the floor just at the top of the step. The jacket was sitting on top of the bag at her side. Donovan turned around in her seat to glare at her. The brunette held her hands up in surrender and shrugged the jacket on just as Morgan slammed the door, got in the driver's seat and started the engine.

Within in minutes, they were leaving the Army base, pausing at the gate house momentarily only to sign out of the base, before they were on the move again. Stella looked past Agent Scott to the long white, double storey building as it grew smaller and smaller before they turned left at the end of the very long drive and it disappeared from view entirely behind a thickness of trees. Scott watched her quietly and with a severe amount of un-interest.

"How long is this drive going to take?" Stella asked.

"It will take as long as it takes. Sit back, relax and let us do the work."

"You mean Morgan." Donovan turned in her seat for the second time in under twenty minutes. "Well he's the only one really doing anything. He's driving."

"Sit there and be quiet. That way, it will be less painful for everyone in the car," Donovan said, having turned back to whatever folder it was that was in her lap.

They sat in almost complete silence for...Stella didn't actually know because she couldn't see a clock on the dashboard or she was lacking a watch, but if she had to wager a guess she would have put money down for a few hours at least. They didn't stop for food or to use the bathroom of some down trodden country fast food joint. Her knee was cramping slightly from the occasional bump in the road and her position on the seat was becoming rather uncomfortable, however Stella's companion's had yet to even move in their seats, aside from the page flipping by Donovan.

"Are we there yet?" she asked, watching as the familiar silhouette of Bendigo tugged at Stella's heart strings and they passed it without a second glance, let alone a first one. Her parents were probably there, on the other side of the town going about their day. It was a Monday, probably close to around noon from what she could tell, so they would be doing their usually weekly food shopping.

"No," Donovan said. "Are you going to ask this every hour?"

"On the hour," Stella retorted.

"How can you even tell the time? You don't have a watch," came back at her.

"I've been counting the slowly passing seconds. Can you at least tell me how much longer? My leg is getting really sore."

"Still a few more hours to go so try to relax," was drawled at her.

Stella inwardly groaned, knowing that if she outwardly expressed her current feelings the only thing she would get back was silence. Bendigo faded out into the distance behind them. Stella would only watch with longing and a desperate neediness that couldn't be met.

The hours wore on even more slowly that the first had. They were skimming the country roads, every so often doubling back just to make sure that the Black SUV was the only vehicle still following them. Their roundabout route was difficult, having to make turn offs just before the small outback towns at an irregular intervals, drive for fifteen or twenty minutes before turning back onto the highway and sticking to the speed limit as they drove back past the paddocks they had already seen. Every time Morgan took a corner, Stella shifted in her seat painfully and struggled to push herself back up to her former position; her shoulders still weren't up to much. The windbreaker shifted every time she did and now it was just plain irritating.

According to Donovan, Stella had half an hour – to stretch, have a quick walk around, even use the dirty bathroom – before they were off again. They had stopped at a dilapidated looking rental shack that was currently empty, because Tedford had taken it off the market for two weeks. It was a one storey, white weatherboard house, worn with age. Bars covered the windows, and there was an old fashioned wire security door hanging by two out of three hinges. Morgan parked the minivan in the driveway after doing three passes of the property. The street was on the very outskirts of the town that had a Woolleys, a petrol station, a cop shop and a handful of milk bars.

They were there for thirty minutes exactly. Stella having used the toilet before lowering herself onto the sunken couch, regretted her choice in seating arrangements when she discovered her inability to pick herself up again. Scott was doing a perimeter check while Morgan had checked the interior of the property. Donovan watched the brunette as she played with her left ring finger unconsciously, looking around the house as she did.

"What's with you?" the blonde asked, nodding to the intertwined fingers.

"Huh?"

"You've been playing with your hands for the last twenty minutes. Why?"

"Because there was a ring on this finger, one that belonged to someone very important to me." Donovan nodded as she took in the words, but that was about it that Stella received in terms of sympathy. "If you have it, or know where it is, I want it."

"Out of the question. Anything you were wearing the day you died, in the hospital, you were most likely buried with."

"But _I_ was not buried. What was it? Bricks? Sand? Body double?" Stella could tell that Donovan wasn't being entirely truthful, but getting herself worked up about a piece of jewellery wouldn't do her health any good.

"Close. Sandbags."

"I want that ring. And the necklace too."

"Why should I give it to you? Even if I did know where it is," Donovan questioned, one foot up on the coffee table and leaning on her knee, with the folder in her hand being used as a pointer.

"It's a small price to buy my silence, while you hide me in plain sight. I'm sure that you would love that wouldn't you? If I kept my mouth shut for however long it is that you have to put up with me?"

"That it true. But once I pass you off to your handler, you're not my direct problem anymore so what's the chance that you will still keep your mouth shut if I, hypothetically, gave it to you?"

"If you want me to keep my mouth shut for however long you plan to keep my stashed away, that is my price," Stella said, shuffling across the couch's seat to attempt to hoist herself up and off of the three-seater.

"I'm not making any promises," Donovan declared, dropping her foot from the table with an audible slap and telling the two boys to round it up and get in the van. They were leaving. "Scott, call Stanton or Tedford and let them know that we're out of here."

"No, need. Ted just slammed on the brakes outside," came back at her from through the front door.

"So much for acting natural," Donovan muttered under her breath. Stella chuckled.

Speaking of Tedford, it appeared that he and Stanton had disappeared from their duty of tailgating the minivan, and Stella hadn't even noticed. They reappeared barely seconds before their boss ordered Morgan to press on, throwing bags of Hungry Jack's at everyone except Donovan, whose lunch-slash-dinner was passed to her politely. Stella caught the worst of it when she tried to balance herself with her crutches and catch the flying paper bag of food. It was the greasiest burger and fries she had ever seen and the simply sight of it made her feel ill, but in order to take her painkillers, she had to scoff the burger first before chasing it with two pills and some coke. It was also the first thing she was given to eat since breakfast. If this was all they were planning on feeding her in their safe house, she was definitely going to turn into Josh's best mate, the Fatty.

As she tried to chew her whopper and not feel sick, they left the outskirts of Mildura, passing the sign 'You're now leaving Cabarita, come back soon,' as they went. "Is this going to be another long haul?" Stella asked from behind a full mouth of food.

"What do you think?" Scott asked her just after he swallowed his own mouthful.

"That we're going to turn around and go home?" she retorted with a cheeky smile. He shook his head at her and took another bite of his French fry burger with a glare.

Stella shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to her bag of food. She was very well aware of the pointed look she was receiving from Donovan in the front seat. Maybe her ability to be immature and annoying at times would pay off. If she managed to wind Donovan up just enough for her most treasured belongings to be rightfully returned to her, she would admit it to his face if she ever got the chance, that Oskar was 'The Man' and the 'Champion Of The Universe'.

Between each bite of her food, taking one fry at a time, Stella asked a generally random question about each of them until she got her answer. Scott had a wedding ring on, and was middle aged looking so he was her first target; how long had he been married, if he had any kids, any other family to speak of. By the time Stella reached her third question, Donovan was practically livid.

Stella smirked from her seat, without removing her eyes from Agent Scott, at the steam that was metaphorically blowing out of Donovan's ears. He watched her from behind his sunglasses, wiping his mouth with his napkin and taking in the boring country views with a sigh. He turned his head in an attempt to ignore her spiteful curiosity, and that was when she first saw his earwig. Her head swivelled around to find an identical one in Morgan's ear. How had she not seen that earlier? So much for being tactically trained. She silently joked with herself that there was no way that Donovan was wearing one; she was on her phone way too much to need it.

Morgan was her next target, even after the blonde sitting in the passenger seat growled rather vocally. His suit that was partially hidden under the windbreaker was nicer and more expensive looking than that of Scott's and Donovan's. He didn't reply to any of her questions until she blurted out at random if he was gay. That was when she received a reply; although it wasn't a very happy one as he growled at her from his seat as if she had severely insulted a member of his family. She grimaced playfully at Scott.

As he steered the vehicle down the dark and deserted highway towards the state line, sipping on his large coke, Stella learned that Donovan was rather touchy about the unanswered questions floating around in the car. She warned them, and with an undertone Stella as well, not to get too attached to each other. When they were able to send the brunette and her handler on their way, they would shed no tears during their departure. Stella had scoffed at Donovan as if to say 'like I would miss you and your goons'.

The team leader was Stella's last target for interrogation, and she was fresh out of easy pickings. The brunette had barely gotten 'so how about you' out of her mouth when everyone in the vehicle jumped at the sound that came from Donovan.

"Fine!" she screeched from the front passenger seat, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her contacts list in her newly found angry mood. "I'll do what I can!"

"That's all I ask," Stella smirked proudly, sinking uncomfortably back against the window. Any longer stuck in her current position and she was going to slap someone. It would most likely be Scott because all she had to do was stretch over the back of her seat a tiny bit and he was close enough for the palm of her hand to snap against his cheek. "I don't know how long I can keep sitting like this."

"Then move," Donovan said, with very little amusement in her tone. It was obvious that she was over any and all of Stella's games.

"It's a bit hard to when your leg is being held straight like this for hours on end in the same position."

"You had a break before."

"Where I got to sit down in the same position."

Donovan sighed loudly and turned around for the umpteenth time. "Jesus fucking Christ, Dagostino!"

"You have a knee construction and then see how you like these current travel arrangements."

"When we stop at the next set of lights, move and sit next to Scott. You can stretch out then."

"We're on a bloody freeway, I doubt we're going to see a set of lights any time soon," Stella said, shuffling forward until the bottom of her foot touched the door.

"Deal with it."

"Oh there are so many things I could say right now," Stella sneered.

"Feel free to say whatever you want, it's not like anyone's going to pay any attention," came back at her in a tone that was nonchalant and distracted.

"Then why are you still answering me?"

She was met with silence for a few long moments before 'smartarse' was thrown at her. She smirked and began trying to reposition herself next to Agent Scott, who moved over to give her enough room and then proceeded to ignore her. The painful minutes turned into painful hours and eventually Stella dozed off with Scott reluctantly being turned into her pillow. She was sure to wake up to a stiff neck and a guaranteed attitude to go with it, and she did.

* * *

The tension that had settled over the Tactical Response was a given; no one wanted to talk about it, but it seemed to be the only thing any of them had in common at all anymore. Everyone, even those who simply didn't have or even had to wear one anymore, was hiding behind the crest that was sewn into their navy blue, customary uniforms. Feelings had been buried beneath work and any the base was now void of any emotion other than professionalism.

Kerry, Lawson and Josh all had experience on their side; they knew how to deal with loss and death within the workplace or their lives in general. The three of them understood the grieving process entirely and went about it without effort. Christian had faltered a few times in the passing weeks, but only momentarily. He was still new to the force, and the team, but Shannon had found him pausing to take a breath more than once. Leon, who had seen his fair share from behind his computer screens was somewhere between coping and Michael; his screens were covered in photos when he thought no one was watching and in between actually doing work. Michael was the least of her worries and the last thing on her mind, but Shannon felt that he was taking more painfully and extremely than the rest of them. He had shown up, late, quite a few days in a row hung over and still smelling like a pub. She thought that it would be like salt in the wound if her relationship with Stella came out.

Under the table and away from the possibility of any prying ears, Kerry had offered Shannon extended compassionate leave, on top of the days off that had been pressed upon everyone. In a blank and empty tone, the offer had been declined. She had opted to throw herself into her work and began spending day and night at the base; either edging through paperwork or working out for so long until she passed out from sheer exhaustion. Kerry had found her twice, fast asleep in the locker room and once on the bench in the showers.

Shannon needed the distraction, something to keep her mind off of the looks on Nina and Nik's faces when she stood there with the box of Stella's things haunting her, of the thoughts of Oskar and Sarah and how they were going to have to explain it to the boys and one day their daughter, of the notion that the idea of heading to the prison to 'visit' Frank while he waited for trial was a good idea. She needed something to keep herself from going back to Stella's apartment; she hadn't returned to the open, one of a kind space since they had found her girlfriend tied to a chair and barely conscious. Just looking at the pictures scattered through her own house was hard enough, there was no way that she would be able to find herself in a room that was Stella.

It had been nearly a month and according to Kerry, she was barely coping. She had thrown back that none of them were. They had lost their Stella, the one that picked on Michael and went out drinking with Leon, the one that clashed with Lawson on a regular basis and was like a sister to Josh, the one Audrey despised because of her history with Michael and the one that Shannon loved more than life itself. The brunette was the life of the group, always with a spark of mischievous planning in her eyes. But that spark had been extinguished, from all of them, forever.

It was early on a Saturday morning when there was a knock at her front door. She had been sitting quietly next to Sam the cat on the couch, sipping on her coffee and checking the newspaper to see if a certain apartment had been put back onto the market yet when it came. She wasn't expecting anyone and could only hope that it wasn't Lawson coming to 'check on her' again. Lifting Sam from her lap, Shannon opened the door to greet her guest.

Her mother was standing there in front of her, several Tupperware bowls packed to the brim with frozen food. Looking down Shannon noticed the Safeway's bags surrounding her mother's feet.

"You haven't been taking my calls," Michelle said, thrusting the Tupperware into Shannon's reluctantly expectant arms.

"I didn't feel like talking," came back quietly, as she turned around to take it all to the kitchen.

"I understand that you're grieving but unfortunately these things happen Shannon." Michelle had followed her a moment later with the half a dozen shopping bags. "More so in your line of work, dear."

'If only you knew,' she thought to herself.

"What have you been living on?" Michelle asked, having stacked the bowls of left over's into the freezer, and checking the fridge. There was half a block of cheese, a few litres of milk and half a tin of cat food. Shannon simply shrugged and continued unloading the bags in silence. "Well now it is time to start eating again. I swear, you're looking a little gaunt."

Shannon wondered if her mother had noticed any of the pictures in the hallway on her way in, or in the living room the day she had been over just before Christmas, the day she unknowingly met her daughter's girlfriend.

Michelle Henry had a way of inviting herself in before you had the chance to deny her entry to your house. She would take over the kitchen under the guise of helping in whatever way she thought she could. At this point, she was filling Shannon's fridge with fresh food and helping herself to a coffee, commenting on the size of the pile of laundry just inside the room next to the washing machine. It seemed like hours that Michelle was talking for, explaining about her brother's new year's adventures and the plans for a fiftieth birthday party for her father coming up in February.

Shannon found herself zoning in and out of the mostly one-sided conversation with her mother, tickling Sam gently when she came to circle her feet and her mind running off to find memories as soon as she spotted the photos.

"So are you seeing anyone?" was the question that pulled her out of her mind and back into reality. Shannon could only look at her mother in silence, questioning whether or not she should say anything; Stella was dead, having taken their relationship alone with her.

"I was," she croaked out.

"Who was he? How long were you together?"

"Just over ten months."

This was the last conversation she really wanted to be having at the moment. It meant that she was being forced to dredge up old memories. She had heard what her mother had said about her cousin Charlie's relationship with another woman. According to Michelle it was the latest piece of gossip to run its course through the family grape vine. Shannon was simply worried about any rift that an admission may cause between herself and her mother.

"Why did you never tell me? Or ever introduce us?" Michelle questioned, tapping her daughter on the arm to gain her attention again.

"I've had a bit on my mind lately," Shannon sighed, wishing that the back of the couch could just open up and swallow her whole at the present moment.

"Really, Shannon. You just have to accept that your friend is gone, and that she's not coming back," Michelle said sternly, as if she was talking to a child. "What was so special about this girl?"

Her daughter looked up from the darkness of her coffee. "She was more than just a friend."

They sat in an awkward momentary silence, Michelle just gawking at Shannon. "Have you lost your mind?"

"A little bit yeah," Shannon admitted. She lifted herself from the couch and into the kitchen. What was left of her coffee was tipped down the sink due to the sickly feeling growing in her stomach.

"So you two were together, together?" was called out from the couch.

"In almost every way possible," Shannon said, loud enough for Michelle to hear her. "Look, if you're going to start about this the same way you did when you found out about Charlie, please just don't."

Michelle had come to stand a few feet behind Shannon. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

The younger woman turned around, with tears growing in her eyes. "You expected me to tell you about a relationship I was having with another woman when you tell me about my cousins relationship like the punch-line of a joke? How was I supposed to tell you that the woman you met coming down my stairs the week before Christmas was the woman I love and not some friend I had been boozing it up with the night before, when I didn't know how you would at all react?"

"I thought you trusted me more than that, Shannon."

"I do trust you. You're the one person I truth wholeheartedly in the entire world," Shannon admitted. "I was just scared of how you would take it, that you would hate me, or blame the shit that happened to me when I was a kid for it, that you wouldn't believe that it was real. I had no one that I could talk to about it, as much as I wanted to tell you."

Michelle could only look at her daughter, trying to judge how much was truth and if any was fiction. So far, from what she could tell, it was all truth.

"How real was it?" she asked with a small smile. Maybe accepting the relationship, even after losing one half of the pair, would help Shannon through the grieving process, give her someone to talk about it too, explain the good times and the bad and all those in between.

"Very real," Shannon cried. "It still feels real and it hurts...so...much."

This was the breakdown that her superiors at work had been waiting for. Kerry and Lawson had been walking around on eggshells for the past month, while Josh had been tailing her whenever he could. She wouldn't be surprised if his relationship with Tash was hanging by a thread based on how much time he spent chasing after Shannon lately.

There was no smashing of plates or cups, no throwing pictures or yelling and screaming. There was only tears, a never ending stream of tears coming down Shannon's face as she wept, collapsing to the floor. "I loved her and she left me."

Michelle didn't know what to do, but watch her child break and simply _attempt_ to comfort her.

Her mother only left after she was convinced that Shannon was all cried out. It took hours before she was fully convinced. The younger Henry had put up a fight when it was suggested that she head to bed for an afternoon lie down; she hadn't slept in her bed for a month, the couch in her living room and benches at work seeming like the less emotional options. A pillow and a set of blankets sat in a corner behind a single seater, so that any unwanted visitors wouldn't see it. The only time she entered her bedroom was to get clothes out, but it was becoming rarer for her to see the pale walls and dark bed spread seeing as most of her clothes were now in the laundry.

Half an hour after Michelle had disappeared, and Shannon had calmed herself down enough to drive, she slipped on a jacket despite the still warm temperatures outside and jumped into her car. Most of her pay check in the last month had gone into her petrol tank or that of a taxi driver's; when she couldn't sleep or when the publican had cut her off from her choice of alcoholic beverages for the night, midnight drives or walks had become a regular feat for her. Often, her walks had lead her to the gate closest to Stella's grave in Melbourne's cemetery; visiting hours to the gates closed at five. So far, despite her efforts, Shannon had tried to make it almost every day, and managed it with some degree of difficulty. It usual;ly resulted in her begging Josh or Lawson to sit in the car during their lunch break so she could run in to say even just a simple 'hello'.

It was still relatively early, so if she hurried, she could still make it to the cemetery. She had under an hour to get there. With traffic picking up for the kids ready to have a night out in the city, any chance Shannon had of a speedy trip had gone out the window. Sure, her ability to navigate city traffic was one of the perks of her job, that didn't mean that it wasn't nightmare to get through when she wanted to visit her dead girlfriend's grave.

It took her almost twenty minutes to get past the growing number of taxi's and throngs of people, and she was warned by the guy in the gatehouse of the time. She assured him, Joe, that today was just a quick visit, like all of her other ones. On several occasions he had found her in a trance, simply staring at the deeply engraved letters of Stella's name on the dark name plate of the marble headstone. Once or twice, he had even found her asleep with dried tear tracks down her face. Sure, beings the groundskeeper of a cemetery, this was a common sight for him, but in his thirty years doing his job, he had never seen such dedication to someone that had passed.

"Hey, baby," Shannon mumbled, taking a seat in her usual patch of grass seat roughly five feet from the name plate. She buried her hands into the pockets of her jacket, just as a cooler wind began to nip at her neckline. Stella's grave was directly underneath a large English Elm that branched out quite far, leaving any afternoon visitors in a cool shade. "I missed you today, just like yesterday, like the day before that and the day before that. Fucking hell, Stella. I can't even tell the difference between left and right these days. I think you broke me," she chuckled with a sad smile.

She had no tears left to give; all she had left was a poor sense of humour that was just as frail as her mental state and her heart. A lone hand reached out to slip between the short blades of grass that had begun to sprout out all across the newly flattened mound of dirt covering the traditional oak coffin. "I told mum about you. She kind of guessed that there was something about you. Especially when she basically took over the house this morning and saw the pile of dirty clothes in the laundry and the lack of food in the fridge. She said if you hadn't died, she would have liked to have gotten to know the woman who stole her daughters heart."

She knew what the low rumbling was before she had even turned around. Joe was riding his buggy, pulling the small trailer full of his garden tools through the main avenue that ran long ways from one end of the cemetery to the other. He was giving the five minute warning to any visitors about the time, because as soon as the gates were locked and Joe went home, the only way out was to jump the fifteen foot steel barred fence that ran entirely around the premises. The last thing you wanted was to be locked inside Melbourne Cemetery at night.

Shannon made eye contact over her shoulder, waved absently and turned back to Stella. She stood from her dry patch of grass, pressed three fingers to puckered lips and brushed them over the engraved name plate. "I love you. I'll see you tomorrow, Stel."

* * *

Shannon only made one stop on the way home from her daily visit.

Her Saturday night ended the same way every other night had ended for the past thirty plus days; with her passed out on the couch surrounded by at least three empty wine bottles.

* * *

Her head was buzzing from the high number of weekend drinks just as the boys were flooding into the locker rooms, unsurprisingly late for a Monday morning. Shannon had been there for two hours already, running through her usual workout with a familiar rhythm before showering and gunning through the paperwork she had been avoiding for the past week, because the best part of the day for her lately was when she was on her way to the pub or the bottle-o at the end of her shift.

Shannon's stomach churned as she headed past Michael for the offices, and caught a whiff of a bar. The difference between the two of them was that Shannon wanted to and was able to hide it from her teammates, whereas Michael wasn't bothering to hide his newly developed alcoholism. She could hear Josh warning the Senior Constable of a breathalyser before they headed out for patrol.

"Kerry this is unacceptable," said Lawson. Shannon could hear the two of them talking in Kerry's office. She stopped just off to the side of the office windows to listen in to their conversation. "I don't know who or what I'm more worried about; Michael and his drinking problem or Shannon throwing herself into her work."

"Lawson, I've done what I can," came back in a whispered hush. "I've offered her extended time off, I've put him in work appointed counselling for the drinking. There's not much more I can do aside from benching the two of them, and at this moment we can't afford to be _three_ people down. In case you haven't noticed, we haven't had the best track record. Three TR members have died since this tactical group was started four years ago."

Shannon let her gaze shift around the panelling of the window frame to see Lawson street clothes and Kerry in her usual attire, both wearing grim looks. "You have to do something, Kerry."

"What do you want me to do Lawson?" She questioned.

"They need to understand that Stella's not coming back." Lawson paused to raise his hands to his hips. "Her spot needs to be filled."

Shannon's heart dropped into her stomach, she had struggled to hear his words and could only wish that she hadn't heard them. While she knew that it was inevitable, it felt like replacing her was too soon.

"I know," Kerry sighed. "You know the procedure as well as I do. We have sixty days to find a suitable candidate to fill the posi-"

Kerry had stopped talking at the sight of Shannon walking past the office windows. She felt a pang of guilt flood through her momentarily at the realisation that their conversation had been overheard. Lawson looked over his shoulder to see Shannon glancing at the two of them with unease before turning her back to shuffle her way into the offices behind Leon and check the board for the days specifics.

Kerry came up behind her only a few minutes after she had been standing at the board, taking in the notes and information. It was incredibly hard for her to ignore the photographs littering the screen as the monitors waited for Leon to arrive. "Can I see you in my office please?"

"I get it," Shannon whispered, the moment the door was closed behind her.

"Do you?" was thrown back at her. "Because to me, that smells like alcohol on your breath. You're not coping."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"What do you think?" Kerry said. "We need the extra person, and you need to accept that she's gone. I've talked to Josh and Lawson and if you want to visit Stella, you can do it in your own time. No more of this skipping your lunch breaks to sit in a cemetery for half an hour. Alright?"

Shannon took a deep breath, knowing that her boss was right. "It just feels like we're betraying her or something," she whispered. "But moving on so quickly."

"But that's the problem, Shannon. No one is moving on. You won't take time off, your work habits are getting ridiculous," Kerry said. "I don't want to bench you, I can't afford to bench you. But I need you to step it up a little. Do you understand? You're a senior off-"

"She was my girlfriend Kerry."

"Not when you were at work," was said very slowly and sternly by Kerry in addition to her look of authority. "I don't care what you do when you're not on the clock, but you are a senior officer and holding on to Stella's death is beginning to get in the way of you performing your duties. You need to set an example for Michael and Christian and Leon. I can only do so much so you need to meet me halfway with this. I get that it hurts and that you don't know what to do. If you want I'll set you up with a counsellor, everything will be confidential, including your relationship."

Shannon paused and considered her options. "I just don't know how to make sense of it all. I know she's gone, I know that she's not coming back. But when we found her, she squeezed my hand. I know that it sounds crazy given her condition at the time, but I know what I felt. If she could squeeze my hand, why couldn't she wake up?"

"Sometimes these things just happen with no explanation and everyone else is left to pick up the pieces," Kerry explained.

"Does stepping up mean that I can pull rank on Michael and his drinking habit?"

"Only if you are completely sober," Kerry countered.

"Fair point," Shannon sighed.

"Look, I'm not saying that you can't visit her or that you shouldn't, but you're still here. You are alive, and you have to live your life. Do you want the counsellor?"

"Not yet," Shannon agreed. "Just let me get through this week. As a senior officer, can I ask to be a part of the process when you pick a new team member?"

Kerry nodded hesitantly, unsure if Shannon was simply asking so that she could compare a newbie to their fallen, more experienced colleague. "Sure. Now head out to briefing."

Shannon did as she was told, her shoulders feeling a little less heavy. The weight was still there, but it was beginning to ease. Maybe she was beginning to heal.

* * *

**Is it going the way you thought it would?**


	33. The New Guy

**Okay, so this is a little longer than usual, I had some inspiration. Most of this chapter incoporates Season 4 Episode 1. I'm not trying to make it all about Season 4, but it may or may not tie into it all with the Buczek stuff depending on whether or not I can be bothered.**

**No Stella in this chapter, I thought the more Shannon at the moment is easier on my creative side especially because I start uni tomorrow morning. Stella in the next chapter.**

* * *

Quiet mornings had becoming an unwanted tradition in the TR base since the funeral. Every day, the boys would shuffle and trip through the garage doors to find Shannon already showered and dressed and waiting on the four of them. She would try to make an effort, offering a kind smile just to see if they would smile back, just so she could see if they were healing as poorly as she was and putting on a brave face because it meant that Kerry would be on them like a bee to honey. When Josh would return it and give her a pat on the shoulder as a reminder that he was there if she needed him, Shannon could only nod silently and prepare herself for the tension filled day. She found herself studying them in the car, at the pub, during their pre- and post-shift briefings and debriefings.

Lawson was all about business the moment he stepped onto the premises even when he was still late most days, and Leon was slowly coming back to his old adorkable self, providing the group with his usual pick-me-ups of dirty jokes and cans of energy drink. Christian was always there to catch the drink before it hit the ground, cracking it open and promising them all to secrecy so Annie didn't find out about his worsening eating habits at work. Michael still smelt like a pub and was still grumpy most of the day, anti-social unless there was alcohol involved, but he seemed to have sobered up mostly. The smell was probably just the odour that had yet to come out in the wash. Audrey had left him, and the group the week before, citing that it was too hard to be there when her supposed boyfriend was still pining over their loss. Kerry did her best to talk to them when she could, but the tactical squad's workload as of late had increased tenfold as they were still down a member.

A Monday morning came around rather fast for Shannon. She had stopped counting the days and weeks that had passed since she said goodbye. She had stopped making an effort for daily visits to the cemetery and opted for every three or four instead. She actually felt a little lighter. Shannon found herself rather shocked when for once in a while the boys had actually managed to beat her to work. They all took the piss when she walked in behind them, still in her street clothes. Leon was hanging out in the locker room with a coffee while they got ready and decided to comment on her tardiness.

"Must have been a big weekend for you, Shan. You're never late. In fact, you're always at least an hour early."

"Two hours early," she muttered under her breath. "If you're going to mock me, at least have the correct facts."

"What was that?" he smirked.

"It was just a busy weekend is all. Not big, just busy."

"Sure, sure," laughed Christian.

"Who is he?" asked Lawson.

Shannon looked up from trying to undo her belt buckle, to see them all waiting for her next words. Their movements and efforts in getting themselves ready had slowed almost to a complete stop. In her mind, she quickly ran though any possible scenario. Positive and negative thoughts went back and forth more rapidly than she thought was possible before a voice pulled her out of the never ending thoughts. "Hmm?"

"Who is he?" came again.

Shannon sighed. "Stella's brother." Her top was lifted over her head to leave her in her bra and jeans just as a few cries of outrage came her way.

"Shannon, why would you go and see him?"

"I hope that you were beating the shit out of him for us," said Michael, clearing his weapon in front of all of them with a grim look.

Shannon lifted her gaze to look at them all with a level of shock written across her face. "She has two brothers you idiots. I was helping _Oskar_ sort through her apartment the entire weekend." Her pants were pulled up her legs as the realisation sunk into to the boys minds.

Michael huffed angrily and shoved his weapon back into his holster. Christian and Leon watched on in silence, waiting for one of them to make the next move. Lawson was looking at her, his disappointed Senior Sergeant expression on his face. Josh was mimicking all of them, the only one really shocked at her admission. They had been having regular talks after Kerry had suggested the counsellor and Josh had unknowingly albeit willingly taken on the role. He understood what it meant for her to be helping pack up Stella's life. Telling him about this must have slipped her mind.

Without a second thought, he zipped up his vest, patted her on the shoulder with his usual effort and ducked out of the locker room. Shannon's eyes were the only ones to follow him and as soon as she turned back, the first thing she saw were four sets of eyes staring back at her.

"He wanted some help. Her parents didn't feel they could do it and Oskar thought it was better that he ask one of her female friends instead getting one of you to pilfer through her underwear drawer."

"It's not like I haven't seen them before," Michael muttered, as he was bent over with a food on the block, lacing up his boots.

"Excuse me?" Shannon demanded. While she had cut him some slack, finding it easier to ignore him and his unknowingly hurtful words, he occasionally pushed her boundaries. This was one of those times.

"I've met him before," Michael said, standing up to look at her with obvious anger in his eyes. In her mind, his mood wasn't justified.

"I'm not even going to bother arguing with you Michael," Shannon said, attempting to shake off her anger. She turned to Lawson, "I'm not riding with him."

It seemed that Josh had read her mind in a brief psychic moment. When she had rushed out of the locker room, work shirt hanging open and a corner of her vest scrunched into her hands, the Senior Sergeant was walking away from the duties board, having just rearranged some names for their patrol parties.

"You didn't tell me," he said softly.

"Can we talk about it later?" she questioned. She hadn't meant to snap at him, it had just happened really, but the rest of the squad was coming up behind her to settle in for their briefing with coffees and some sketchy looking toast and at this point the last thing she wanted was more questions.

He shrugged and sat on the desk top to listen to Kerry and Lawson babble on about team dynamics, and how they needed to have each other's back now more than ever. They were scalded for in team arguments, longer than necessary lunch breaks, and the ridiculous number of blood alcohol tests that had been administered to team members in the last month. They were slacking off when in actual fact they should have been stepping up to pick up the slack, being one member down. In hindsight, they were completely right and Shannon mentally nodded when the threat of suspension or even a permanent, unpaid vacation if they didn't start upholding the Victorian Police Force's principles and the law without prejudice or vengeance.

It had been a slow morning, one that Shannon was dreading because it meant that there was plenty of time to play twenty questions with Josh. She had pulled over and handed him twenty bucks to grab some coffees. She felt hung-over but she hadn't had a drink for over a week. Her ability to sleep on command had practically diminished in the passing weeks and she had to find ways to keep herself awake and alert on the job. Once, she had been so tired that she had crashed in the backseat, just wanting to close her eyes to try and ward off the oncoming headache. She woke three hours later, without her vest and tied to the back grate in TR2.

Within three seconds of him returning to TR2 and having handed Shannon her hot drink, his mouth was open with his first question. "How you doing?" he asked, avoiding eye contact under the guise of checking the busy city streets for any crime.

"Who are you, the Fonz?" Shannon remarked with a chuckle. It was the first one Josh had heard in a long time. "I'm fine."

"No you're not."

Shannon sighed. Josh had a way of calling you out over something with a level of bluntness that was brutally honest, but didn't make you angry or feel hurt. It left you seriously questioning whatever you were talking about. She sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"I'm getting there."

"Prove it."

"I hardly cried this weekend."

"That doesn't prove shit, besides the fact that you're not breaking as easily."

"You expect me to be strong all the time. Since I was a kid, I have always held it together," Shannon all but declared. "For everyone else but me. Why can't I break because I lost the girl I love? You know exactly how I'm feeling, Josh."

"The difference between you and me, is that you got to say goodbye, get a little closure by packing up her things. That couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't."

"Did it help though?"

"A little," they shared a smile. "It was the first time I'd been in there since Christmas. A lot of memories in there."

"What kind of memories are we talking about here?" Josh asked, facing her and wiggling his eyebrows.

"JOSH!" Shannon looked at him with an expression of shock before slapping him hard on the shoulder and bursting out laughing. He chuckled along with her, proud of himself for getting one of those pure laughs out of the usually grief ridden woman. "I don't ask for details about you and Tash!"

"You don't need to. Leon usually does it for you and all the rest of you just have to sit there and take notes."

"Take notes, huh?"

"Yeah, pay close attention in my class, young one."

"Young one? We're the same age," Shannon laughed. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that the subject you're _teaching_, is a little to the left for me."

"The principles are still the same," Josh argued.

"That's a good point actually," Shannon said, faking contemplation.

"Think you'll ever use my lady-grabbing tools?"

Shannon scoffed. "Only if I want to be charged with sexual misconduct."

"You wouldn't get charged with sexual misconduct," he said, brushing off her comment. He thought about it for a moment and changed his answer. "Okay, you might, but you could probably get let off with a warning."

This was the first genuinely playful conversation they had shared since Stella had died, seeing as Shannon had spent most of that time in self-confined solitary and slightly intoxicated. Things seemed to be slowly getting back to normal, at least on the surface. Josh understood that it would take more time for the cracks and breaks deeper down to even begin the healing process. But Shannon cutting herself off from any form of alcohol, visiting the cemetery less often and smiling more was a definite start.

"Ahh, guys?" came through their earpieces, breaking the moment but not their heightened spirits.

"Yeah, go ahead Leon," said Josh, motioning for Shannon to start the car and break back into the traffic.

"There have been quite a few calls coming in about an older man sitting on the edge of a building rooftop in Fitzroy Street, East Melbourne."

"Floor it," Josh muttered to Shannon before turning his attention back to Leon. "We're just around the corner, we're on our way now. Give us about five minutes."

"TR1 is in North Melbourne. ETA is four minutes," came Lawson's voice. "Josh you take the south side and we'll grab the north."

"Got it."

What was left of their lunches was forgotten about on the backseat, half empty cups of coffee being juggled in Josh's lap because he hadn't had any time to dispose of them before they took off. Any humour had left the forefront of their minds, being pushed to the back so they could focus on their day's work.

Fitzroy Street was a narrow laneway with barely enough room for two cars to pass through. There was guaranteed to be one idiot to attempt and push through with a Police issued four wheel drive sitting on both sides of the street. As they pulled up, Josh re-configured the number in his head, spotting the parking structure opposite their possible jumper on the roof. TR1 was had pulled up to the location mere moments before Josh and Shannon, who hit the ground running, trying to get a decent look at the man on the ledge.

"Shannon, Christian, you're with me. Josh, you and Michael keep the area clear," Lawson ordered.

Shannon and Christian followed the Senior Sergeant closely, hearing Josh and Michael directing people to the far side of the street, before they began running up the stairs two at a time for the entire six floors. The trio all but banged through the access door to the roof, Lawson backing towards the edge slowly to get a look. It seemed to be the standard talk-down, but they couldn't be further from the truth. After  
gathering a reasonable assessment, Christian was waved at, silently told to find his way around to the other side.

"Hello?" he called. "My name is Lawson Blake, this is my colleague Shannon. We're here to help you. If you just come down off that ledge, we can sort this out."

In her mind, as Shannon followed him step for step but always just out of arms reach, she was recounting the negotiation steps for the situation, trying to keep track of where Lawson was at in the process.

"It's sorted Senior Sergeant," came back at him, barely loud enough to be heard over the air conditioning system behind him. He was an older man, with white-gray hair, dressed well enough to be a politician. "There's nothing you can do."

"Do you want to give me your name? What can I call you?"

"You can call me dead, Sergeant." Shannon could see the fight fading in his eyes, and doubted that Lawson would be able to talk him down any time soon.

"Lawson, can you get any closer?" Leon whispered, as if he was standing three feet behind the man.

As casually as he could manage, Lawson attempted to comply with the request, but was quickly called out on his actions. "Get back!"

"Holy shit! That's Gary Kessel, the Police Minister," Shannon heard. Despite the seriousness of their current predicament, she had to fight to keep a straight face at Leon's choice of words. Only he could make her laugh in such an awkward situation.

"Yes, it is," Lawson agreed, chucking a look over his shoulder at his colleague. Shannon openly grimaced at him, confirming that this wasn't going to end well. "Mister Kessel, sir, if you come away from that ledge, we can help you."

"I have to do this!"

"Can you tell me why you are here?"

"Lawson Blake?" Kessel asked. It wasn't always a good thing for someone ready to throw themselves from the roof of a six storey building to recognise the one person trying to talk them down. Sometimes it acted as a trigger and ended everything faster than the jumper could hit the ground.

"That's right."

"We've met," Kessel stated.

Lawson confirmed, "Yeah, we have. You're a, um...you're a Carlton supporter from memory."

Shannon silently cringed at his choice of topic to identify. If anything, this could turn into a pissing match over who had the better centre-half forward or midfielder.

"This was a ridiculous idea anyway." Kessel looked away from Lawson and Shannon and stared wishfully at the ground sixty feet below. There was a tree in his way for a straight forward fall to meet the concrete.

"Why don't we just help you back down from the ledge?"

"Stay there!"

Lawson openly agreed, stepping back a few paces to show his compliance. "Okay. Let's just keep talking," he suggested.

"I don't want to talk! Nothing will change what's happened!"

Lawson didn't get another word out of the man, who had reached into the inside pocket of his blazer. Instinctively, Shannon reached for her Glock, unbuttoning the top and preparing to pull it out. She breathed a quick sigh when she saw it was only his phone.

"Why don't you tell me what has happened, Mister Kessel? Gary, who are you calling? Gary?"

"I told you, there's nothing you can do!" was yelled across the rooftop, just as the phone was lifted to his right ear, effectively blocking Lawson and Shannon from his peripheral vision.

That was when she heard it. A sound that had haunted her dreams more often than not since beginning the new year. A gun had gone off and struck Kessel right in the side of the neck, mostly likely hitting the main artery.

"Shots fired! Shots fired!" Lawson yelled, pushing Shannon to take whatever cover they could manage to find on the open rooftop. The last thing Shannon saw of Kessel was his body tipping over the edge with the force of the shot to connect with the ground.

She was breathing heavily as she ducked down behind the stairwell walls with Lawson on one side and Christian on the other.

"Fuck," said Lawson. "This is not good."

Kessel was the man responsible for approving the Tactical Response Unit. He had given them a chance to improve and even advance in their careers, while they had failed to save his own and his life.

"Where did the shots come from?" Christian asked, dipping his head to look at his boss.

"Shan, duck your head over the top," Lawson nodded at the stairwell.

"Prick," she muttered after the momentary shock had worn off, before raising herself slowly with her heart beating loudly in her ears. She could see a quick shimmer of light off to the far left of their position; a rooftop twice as high as their own and facing the doorway to the stairs, their only way down. It could have been nothing, but it could have been life or death for them. It didn't shimmed again. "Nothing, but there is a car park opposite us."

"Alright, on the count of three, we're gonna run into the stairs as fast as we can, don't stop till you hit the landing. Shannon, you stay here. One, two, three," Lawson ordered, going first and opening the door, practically throwing himself down the steel set of stairs. It took them less time to get down than it had to get up to the roof. Shannon could hear them practically jumping the stairs halfway at a time, as the door closed slowly behind them. They needed to get down to the ground and assess the damage. Kerry was going to have a field day with this.

When she was sure that Kessel was the only intended victim, Shannon cleared her way back to the ledge to look over and see the boys sprinting out of the buildings access door twelve feet from Kessel as he lay face down and his brains littering the pavement. She had to look away before she lost her lunch, and begun searching the carpark. Michael and Josh had both sought cover, weapons drawn and raised, quickly searching the rooftop Kessel had fallen from for the shooter.

"Anyone got a visual?" Josh yelled, his guns till pointed in Shannon's general direction.

"Nothing!" came from Michael's end of the street.

"Shan?" Josh asked. Two marked police vehicles were pulling up behind each TR car. "Leon, get ESD and Homicide down here. No one in or out, and get a blanket to cover this guy up."

"There's no sign of movement, but the car park is our best bet," Shannon said, walking the length of the ledge. She looked down to catch Lawson's eye as he rounded the dead man by at least five or six metres to stand in the middle of the street closer to Josh.

"Christian, Josh! Car park!" Lawson yelled, and the three of them took off running.

It had barely been a full minute when more sirens could be heard, drowning out the revving of an engine. Shannon had ducked down to get the best visual she could, until a quick movement caught her eye on the third tier of the parking structure.

"Leon, what's going on?" she asked, before making her way down the stairs.

"Lawson, Josh and Christian found the guy. He's on a red motor cycle, silver helmet and black gear. Marked car just cornered him, and, ohhh!"

"What?" she demanded. She had just made it out into the street to see Michael ordering the uniform's around, setting up a cordon checking for Kerry, ESD and the Homicide detectives. It was hard to tell who was who; they all had the same make, model and coloured car.

"He's a professional. Just clocked Lawson in the face. He's on the top level of the shopping strip on the other side of the car park. Uni's are trying to chase him down but they're not getting very far," Leon commentated. It was a few agonising seconds as he tried to follow the action on his screens. This was the best part of his job; a real live action movie with a different theme every week, playing on his screens. "And he's gone."

"What do you mean, 'he's gone' Leon?"

"I mean that no matter how fit or unfit you guys are, you can't compete with a motorbike. Jumped off the second tier of the shopping strip around the corner, and nicked off down the street. He's gone."

Shannon could hear Josh and Lawson swearing into their radio's and Leon's incessant chuckling at their attitudes. "Why did you shoot him?" she asked.

"Great idea, Shan," Josh scoffed with a heavy breath.

They arrived back at the cars after a few minutes, and the TR members were called together for a quick discussion opened by Michael.

"So that's the Police Minister," Michael said, holstering his weapon as he came closer to get a look at the gunshot wound.

"Correction," Josh called out, bet over at the waist still trying to get some oxygen into his lungs. "That _was_ the Police Minister."

Gary Kessel had been dead for going on thirteen minutes when Kerry had arrived, shoving a earpiece into her ear as she stalked towards Shannon. Lawson and Josh were explaining the entire thing to Homicide and ESD respectively, while the latter looked rather peeved about having to deal with the 'rat squad'. The other three members of the team were waiting their turn to give their statements to each divisions detectives. The Inspector had asked Shannon 'what the fuck happened?' and moved on to Christian, Michael and finally Lawson before she could even form a response.

The Senior Sergeants had been dragged away from giving their statements with protests from the detectives, just so they could be told to give their statements and get back to the base as soon as possible. Michael had muttered under his breath that the stress was too much for Kerry, as she looked like a junkie coming down from a high. He was silently thankful that Kerry didn't have her weapon strapped to her thigh, otherwise the Homicide squad would have been investigating two deaths, as he was met with a glare that could have frozen hell.

It had taken well over two hours before they were allowed to leave the crime scene, having given statements twice, and waiting for the coroner's van and a marked car to be moved so they could get out of the laneway. Kerry had ordered the paperwork to be impeccable for this, and slammed the door to her office to start yelling on her phone again.

* * *

It was only a day later when the ball really started rolling down hill for the TR squad. By the time they reached the base to prepare for their day, and went about doing morning inventory for the strong box and the duffel bags, they were met with an eerie screech from Lawson to forget their vests into their lockers and get up to the offices.

The ten o'clock news was playing on the centre screen, reporting on the death and newly appointed Police Minister. _"The shooting death of Police Minister Gary Kessel continues to baffle police, who believe that a professional killer is responsible for the murder..."_

"Hey Lawson, check this out," said Leon, fiddling with the screen off to the left and zooming in on some surveillance camera footage. "I can print you one to take home if you like."

_"A major task force, codename 'Cicero' has been set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the Minister..."_

"Funny."

_"New Police Minister Anna Vargas was sworn in today. The forty year old, two term politician has had a stellar rise to the top, joining the Ministry after only six years in Parliament..."_

"Anna Vargas?" Lawson asked. "Who the hell is Anna Vargas?"

"That was fast," Christian said.

"Politics, mate," Michael shrugged, taking another oversized bite from his breakfast.

His team members were standing behind him, all in uniform, and either drinking coffee or eating a Subway sandwich in Michael's case. They all shrugged.

"What's this 'Cicero' bullshit?" asked Josh, crossing his arms in his usual fashion.

"It's been set up by...her," Lawson said, waving a thumb in the screens direction, "and has pooled the best from a few fields to try and figure out what the hell was going on. We're the tactical aspect obviously. Kerry's gone to talk to what's-her-name this morning to get some more details about what's going on. Inventory and finishing your paperwork for now. I'll call Kerry in an hour and find out the details."

One by one, the group nodded, took another crunchy bite and trailed off down the hallway to get started on their morning chores. Everyone was well into their paperwork, by the time the Inspector returned as newly appointed Superintendent in charge of the taskforce. She filled everyone in on everything but one small detail, asking to see Lawson out in the garage while the rest of them finished dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's before signing their names across the dotted line at the bottom. Shannon hadn't meant to hear the conversation, but once she had heard the first words, there was no way she could stop herself from taking another step closer.

"Look, Vargas offered me the leadership job of the taskforce. I couldn't exactly say no."

"Yeah, you told us that already. You want to get to the point of why you dragged me out here Kerry?" Lawson asked.

"The empty position is getting filled and you're going to answer to this guy," she said slowly.

"Who?"

"A Senior Co-ordinator, Charlie Lewis. He's going to be becoming the squad leader." Shannon couldn't see it, only hear it in Kerry's voice, but the woman was cringing. She mouthed the name 'Charlie Lewis' to herself, immediately wondering if he was as big a tool as she imagined him to be after only hearing his name.

"You're kidding, aren't you?" Lawson asked. "We've been looking for a replacement and we're down to three candidates. Shannon just wants one more look at them before we get her input."

"Vargas wants him as the Cicero guy in TR."

"Yeah," Lawson agreed. "Did you remind her that she's a politician? That she's got no place in this squad?"

"Let's just see what he's like. He might-"

"So does he replace me or what?" Lawson questioned. It was obvious that he felt threatened with the sudden intrusion into a place where he was in charge, knew that the way things were handled were under his authority unless Kerry overruled him, and that they weren't going to change.

"Not exactly," Kerry said cryptically.

"Not exactly. Well do I report to him or not?" He wasn't answered right away. "It's a simple question."

"Yeah. You do," she stammered.

"So what's the deal here? Am I supposed to chuck a hissy fit and resign? Is that it?"

"Don't be ridiculous Lawson."

"You get this huge promotion and the first thing, the first thing you do is slot some new guy above me?" Kerry nodded. "Well obviously I have to assess my options." She nodded once more.

"I need you on this Lawson," Kerry said, before standing up and disappearing out the other door.

Shannon leant against the wall, trying to understand. She knew that they all had a job to do, and that this was a part of that job, but Kerry and Lawson had agreed to let her be a part of making the final decision of who would take Stella's place. Now they get a complete stranger who was most likely an arsehole? The movement to her right caught her attention and she saw Lawson come out from the locker room, spot her and instantly deflate even more.

"Sorry," she offered, with an uncomfortable shrug.

"Yeah, me too," Lawson said, attempting a polite smile and motioning for the offices.

"If you were considering leaving because you lost your spot as top dog in this squad, don't. Because you know we would all back you over this new guy without a second guess. We're still broken. There's no way we could cope with losing another member of this family so soon," she explained. She watched him nod in understanding at the faithfulness he knew they would show to him if things were taken too far during their hunt for the assassin. "This is your team, Lawson Blake. Nothing can change that."

"I know. Thanks," he replied. His spirits seemed to have lifted enough for there to be a small bounce in his step on his way back up to the offices. "Get your vest on. We got patrol," he called back.

"We got a lead!" Leon yelled throughout the building. The pizza place down on the corner probably heard him. Shannon practically ran back up the hall to listen in. "Superintendent Cicero Leader!"

"Alright, alright. What have you got?" Kerry asked, coming up behind Leon as he leaned back and twisted in his chair. In his hand was a piece of paper covered in numbers.

"The phone call that the Minister, well ex-Minister, made on the rooftop. We got a trace. Guess who?" he sing-songed, holding the paper just out of Kerry's reach. "No, guess."

"Leon," she said clearly. As soon as she had snatched it from his hands, she was scanning the page, her eyes heading directly for the highlighted column. "Brett Cohen."

"Brett Cohen. Mister King of the Waterfront."

"Yep, and shipping, trucking, airlines, mistresses, racehorses."

"Great!" Shannon exclaimed before heading back down the hallway once again to grab her vest for a second time.

Half an hour later and she was no longer wearing her vest, nor her uniform. They had been traded in for an industrial onesie, navy blue just like everything else they wore. Despite her protests the day before about working with Michael directly, Shannon found herself on a three person team that had been left with the task of placing covert surveillance inside Brett Cohen's South Yarra palace for the Cicero taskforce heads of operations. They were bugging the house of a multi-millionaire who ate with the Prime Minister and, according to Lawson, shat gold bricks. Michael didn't hide the fact that he wanted one of those so-called palaces.

"In and out in fifteen minutes," Lawson ordered.

"Let's go!" Shannon called, climbing into TR2.

Josh stood next to Lawson for a moment. "Is it such a good idea to let her be in charge of Muppet?"

"She's gotta work through her issues," Lawson explained. "Work being the primary word there."

"That's harsh, isn't it?"

"She'll get over it. She has too."

They had been inside Cohen's office for less than the allocated time, the boys talking trophy wives and checking for appropriate places to hide listening devices when Christian spotted the motion sensor activated camera, sitting atop a book while being partially hidden by the rest of the pile.

"Shit," she exclaimed. "You know what, leave what you're doing, grab you're gear. We are leaving. Looks like we've tripped an alarm."

"It's too late," said Michael, pulling up his gloves just as a black vehicle pulled up in the driveway outside.

"Fuckin' hell. Lawson we're gonna need some help here. We've got a bit of a problem. Some backup would be muchly appreciated about now."

"Alright, go," came back at her through her radio.

So much for being the tactical aspect of a highly rated taskforce with its very own codename; they had already been caught. They weren't doing very well at this point, even though this was supposed to be on the hush, hush, until taskforce heads could interview Cohen when he got back into town. There was only one way to get out of the house, seeing as they had already been spotted through the windows.

"Who are you?" the man from the front passenger seat asked as Michael opened the front door and walked down the few steps. He was easily in his forties, with slick backed hair and a suit jacket. There was a larger Samoan to Michael's left who was covered in tattoos and a leather jacket. There was one more guy on the far side of the car, watching from a distance.

"That really isn't any of your business. Look, I'd advise you guys to leave now. Just get in your car and leave," Michael suggested easily. There was no form of anger or aggression to the newcomers from the Senior Constable.

"Listen to this guy," the apparent leader laughed. It was then with Michael being caught off guard, that a baseball bat was brought into his lower ribs.

"Hey, hey, hey," Shannon and Christian called, stepping in to tell them to leave and to aid Michael. "Just leave."

"Are you ready for the big trouble chica?"

"Back up, back up," said Michael, somehow still managing to be standing up straight after the hard knock to the ribs.

"Get in your car and get out of here," Shannon tried one last time.

"I don't think so," the man said. He and his colleague's looked over their shoulders as TR1 came down the driveway and blocked their black vehicle in. "Who are they?"

"Put the bat down," Lawson commanded, jumping from the passenger seat while Josh pulled his weapon.

"Who are they?" was asked again.

"Put the bat down on the ground now." After a staring contest, the bat was dropped to the ground with a bouncing thud. "Now get in the car and piss off."

"Here comes the boss," muttered Josh, as another car pulled up behind TR with a custom gold number plate 'RESPEKT'. They all knew who this was, having read up on Cohen's closest associates on the way down to his house. Three more people exited the vehicle, outnumbering Tactical Response five to six and probably three bats and a couple guns to two weapons.

"I'm ordering all of you to get back in your cars and leave."

"You got a warrant for all this shit?" the newcomer asked. With a reasonably long beard and a mullet tied back into a ponytail, Honiara began yet another staring contest. This man was notoriously famous in the gang land communities.

"Are you deaf mate?" Lawson asked. Only after answering his phone, and it was presumably Cohen on the other end, did Honiara give the okay to leave. Just as they began leaving, the one with the slicked back hair went to retrieve his bat. "Ah! Leave that and piss off."

"Why Honiara?" Josh asked, his eyes never leaving the cars as they reverse out of the driveway.

"Why do you think?" Shannon asked, as their new friends pulled out into the street and sped off.

"I want to know who made that call," Lawson said, smiling at them like he had during his obsession with catching Andrew Kronin.

Honiara was the leader of a bikers gang, the Marauders. They had a notorious reputation for being the most violent bikie gang in the state and almost the entire country. Understanding that they were playing a part in the entire operation added a whole new level to the crime they were dealing with. The last thing they needed was to get out of their depth with this, and telling Kerry that bikies were running security for a man who controlled most of the shipping companies coming in and out of Melbourne was going to leave Lawson dropped into the deep end with no rescue in sight. Especially once the new guy decided to show his face and add weights to Lawson's ankles as he tried to float.

When their group leader had thought it best that he explain his new position within the team, there had been immediate outrage which levelled to a conversation that was carried out into the vehicles as they started their patrol.

"Hey, Lawson, does this mean that you've been demoted?" asked Leon. Always wanting to take the piss.

"No it doesn't Leon. Thanks for that picture in my locker by the way." His tone was anything but pleasant, assuring the intelligence officer that he was going to cop it one way or another when he least expected.

"You're welcome."

"It means, Leon, that Kerry is going to have a brawl with this new Minister."

"Girl on girl? Think we can convince them to make it a match of mud wrestling?"

A round of snickers came across through everyone's ear pieces. This was a new low, even for Leon Broznic. The only thing they could hope for was that Kerry hadn't returned from her 'mud wrestling match' with Anna Vargas.

"Politicians trying to run cops. Bikie's in bed with a billionaire. What's all that about?" Christian asked over the radio.

"Why can't it be like before when we had some kind of clue what was going on?" Michael commented sarcastically.

Even though it was a stab as the politics of their jobs, Shannon was still grateful that she was in the TR1 with Lawson and Christian and not Michael. As an officer she had nothing against him. As a human being that was still hung up on Stella, even when the fallen brunette had turned him down on multiple occasions, she simply wanted to punch him every time he opened his mouth.

"Twice in one day. This should be good," he said, just after the call came through from VKC of Honiara's Marauders hoofing it against persons known at the Royal Hotel.

TR2 met up with them just outside the building, coming into the street mere seconds before a collision could have taken place. Automatically they began clearing the pub as a group, falling back into their almost innate habits that came with their training. There was two men out in the back alley, Lawson and Michael having moved to cover that exit, with one bent over the other beating the shit out of him.

Inside was worse, and was practically a bloodbath. There were men on the floor, under tables and hanging off overturned chairs, all covered in specks of blood that was either their own or someone else's. It took a severe amount of authority for the TR members to shut the brawl down.

"Leon, we're going to need an ambulance," Shannon said, checking over a few of the men half conscious on the ground. "Make that two."

"Marauder from the house," Michael called.

"Who are all these other guys then?" Lawson asked.

They had only been a part of 'Cicero' for just over twenty-four hours and they had fallen quite far into the dung pile that no one had any idea how long it was going to take for them to pull themselves out. Lawson had a headache from trying to keep the connections in his mind clear. Josh was leaving all the thinking up to Lawson unless he was absolutely needed. Christian and Michael were following basic instructions, liaising with the uniformed officers, the paramedics and the Major Crime's detective that had come down for a follow up. Shannon was thankful for the distraction so she didn't have to think about if she was going to settle in with hot bath and an early night, or avoid her bathroom and flick through photos all night again.

Her gaze wondered around the scene, paramedics floating back and forth, general duty constables hauling handcuffed people to marked cars to be questioned and the navy blue TR guys scattered here and there. There was only one thing that really caught her eye as she stood amongst the organised chaos. A man was staring more intently at the people moving about inside the taped off area, like he understood everyone's positions and the entire situation.

"Shannon," Josh called. He was ignored as she continued to stare at this man. There was simply something about him, but she was unable to tell if it was a good something or a bad something. She guessed they would find out. "Shannon," came again, but this time through her ear piece, pulling her from her daydreaming state to see Josh and Christian staring at her.

"What?" she asked stupidly. It wasn't like her to be off her game on the job.

"We're leaving," said Josh, with a slight smirk. Shannon nodded and started following him back to the cars, throwing a glance over her shoulder to see the spot that had been occupied by the guy in the brown jacket and jeans empty.

Josh had glanced at her more than once on the way back to the base and it was getting rather annoying. Especially when she felt she should keep her mouth shut with Christian in the car. You never knew which was a conversation with Josh was going to go, so it was better to play it safe by having most conversations with him alone.

"Have we found out what was going on at the pub?" Josh asked, following Shannon into the offices with his hands on her shoulders.

"Yeah," said Kerry. "Cohen dumped the Marauders and hired Danny McGowan's boys instead."

"Everyone wants a bit of Cohen right up to Kessel. He knew too much, but we don't know what it was that he actually knew."

"What is it with this guy?" Christian asked, eyes on the screen along with everyone else's. The picture of Danny McGowan shifted back to be one of the assassin they still had yet to identify.

"Any more on the assassin?"

"His picture is at every airport, but they're all positive that he hasn't left town," Leon explained. There was a sharp cracking snap to the back of his head that left him howling for a good ten seconds. "What was that for?" Lawson simply looked at him silently. "Right, the photo. You know, that's police brutality right there."

"Yeah, and you still use the system to watch porn thinking that Kerry doesn't know," said Shannon, smiling along with Josh.

The intelligence officer sulkily shrunk back into his seat and began typing away at his computer relentlessly. "Keep digging, Leon. Anything you can get on the connection between Brett Cohen and the Marauders."

The rest of them wandered out into the hallway, hoping for a cup of coffee or a toilet break before they headed back out onto patrol. There was a man sitting in the waiting area; he was the one from the Royal Hotel, in the brown jacket and jeans. She watched him as she passed. He stood and greeted Lawson as if they were old friends.

"Senior Sergeant? Charlie Lewis," he said. Shannon had to do a double take and flurried to grab anything of Josh's tactical vest.

"What?" he asked.

"That's him," Shannon said, nodding to Charlie as he stood with Lawson, both men sizing each other up.

"That's who?"

"That's the Cicero guy," she hissed.

"The one Lawson was telling us about this morning?"

"Yep."

Josh and Shannon stood there behind the corner of the door, watching as quietly as they could until Charlie was motioned in the direction of the locker room by Lawson, spotting the two Senior Sergeants eavesdropping. The two of them turned on their heels like a pair of teenagers busted by their parents and hightailed it into the locker room.

"Tool," Josh muttered.

Shannon giggled, turned to the two Constables and warned them, "incoming."

Neither of them had time to question what she meant because Lawson shuffled into the room with Charlie strutting behind him.

"G'day all. Senior Sergeant Charlie Lewis. Some of you may have heard I was coming," he said with a polite smile. His gazed lingered on Shannon and Josh specifically. Neither of them backed down from the staring contest. "Do you want to sit down?"

"Nah, I'm good," said Lawson, crossing his arms comfortably in his position next to Charlie.

Shannon had to stifle a giggle, after having had that conversation with Lawson earlier about whose team they were. At least he was standing up for himself.

"I'm here as the TR link with the rest of the taskforce, and I'm honoured. I don't know if you guys know it, but you've got a big rep," he said, explaining himself. "Now Lawson will still be the main guy out in the cars, but I'm running the show."

The group had only been casually listening in, like a group of school kids at assembly bored out of their minds, until he had spoken that last sentence. Their heads had whipped up fast than a speeding bullet. Josh, Lawson and Shannon all exchanged one silent look. 'Tool.'

"I'm also very aware that you all lost a team member a little while back, but this is the time to focus on your job and your duty. You do what you're told on the job regardless of your feelings at the time."

Shannon had wanted to but couldn't muster up the courage or the energy to walk out at this point. His comments only gave her another reason to despise this man. Sure they had hit rock bottom as a team when she was taken and unfortunately died, but to insinuate that they hadn't been performing their duties over the past month was purely insulting. Michael was the only one that had grown a pair, and stalked out, muttering obscenities under his breath. He was ordered to return immediately, but Charlie was flipped off as the Constable headed outside for some fresh air.

"Something I said?" Charlie asked the group.

"You don't talk about Stella. End of story," Shannon warned him. "You didn't know her, and you don't know us."

"Ahh, the investigation is moving on a few fronts, the big one being between this rich bloke Cohen and the Marauder's bikies. Now I use that term loosely. Honiara and his lads have moved up in the world as you know." Charlie looked around at them awkwardly. "Any questions?"

"So are you supposed to be administration and operations?" asked Christian, pointing at the newcomer with something he had picked up off the bench behind him.

"Are you supposed to be a Constable?"

"Yeah."

"Well, why don't you leave that up to us, okay? Any more questions?"

Christian looked down at his hands with an amount of embarrassment and newly found anger for Charlie Lewis. This man's time with the TR group was definitely not going to run as smoothly as he was obviously hoping.

"It's a new world order kids. I'll keep you posted. Alright, get out there team," he said. "You and You. Shannon and Josh? Can I see you for a minute?"

"You've been here all of three seconds mate. What have we done?"

"I can see it written all over your faces," Charlie stated.

"Oh really? I can see something written all over you face too," Shannon retorted, earning herself a slap in the arm from Josh.

"You two are rooting. You need to cut it out." He had barely gotten his words out when the two Senior Sergeants standing opposite him burst out with laughter, having to lean on each other to keep themselves up. "What's so funny?" he asked, his tone becoming one of slight anger.

"I haven't slept with him in two years. You're a little late to the game here _Charlie_."

"Yeah, mate. Jeez. She's my P.I.C, partner in crime. And I have a girlfriend by the way."

Shannon pushed him towards the cars so they could make a quick escape and leave him standing there with slight embarrassment.

"Hey Shannon!" Charlie called out after a few beats. "What's written on my head?"

She gulped, looked at Josh as if to ask if she should actually answer his question, and then actually answered his question. "Tool."

* * *

**Well what did you think?**


	34. The Shock

Okay so I know its been a couple weeks since I updated, school got in the way. Being first semester of first year, it got a little heavy towards the end, maybe because of exams, mostly because I just don't have time for anything else but school. BUT SCHOOLS OUT...for 4 weeks, hopefully I can get some more up, but a social life would be nice haha.

Enjoy this long-awaited update, thanks for those last few reviews but now I'm slightly confused as to where I am for thanking people, so thank you.

ENJOY!

* * *

She was tired, but couldn't sleep. Her entire body was fatigued and sore, but there was no sign of the dull pain easing up. It was still dark, four thirty six to be exact, when the cracks in the blinds were lit up and shadows rose and fell across the ceiling the same way and at the same time that they had for the last nine days. Someone was going to work, living their life. Stella tried to imagine who these people were as the ring on her right hand was twisted around the digit, what jobs they worked that required them to be up at four thirty in the morning, who their families were and why they had to have their high beam on in a short residential street so early.

This was her only form of entertainment in a house that had no TV, didn't accept newspaper deliveries or mail of any kind. Any contact with the outside world was strictly prohibited. Everyone in the street thought they were weird, but the single visit to the only physical therapist and a surgeon in the small country town just for a progress check spread the word like wildfire that they were a group of friends renting for a couple weeks. Her only form of entertainment was the only thing keeping her mind off of the painful ache in her chest.

Her day had consisted of the same thing since they had arrived in the empty house sitting in the middle of an estate a week and a half before. The live-in nurse story had been a crock from Donovan just to please the nurse at the base hospital, so she had been left to her own devices for her two week stay in her self-declared prison. Her routine was nothing other than pacing her room, trying to manage without her crutches and with the awkwardness of her brace. Occasionally during the day, she would be given something to eat if one of Donovan's four lackey's had been given the go ahead to leave the house and stock up on food.

The sooner she could get back to walking with some form of normalcy, the less shit she would have to cop from Donovan. Her apparent handler hadn't shown up yet, but whoever it was supposed to be arriving later on in the day. No doors in the house were allowed to be closed. The bathroom door was the only exception. It was the only form of privacy that Stella had to be herself, to remember who she was and where she came from before trying to push it all down as deep as she could manage, suck it all up and struggling to put on a brave face.

She had sworn to herself that her brave face was going to stay put, even after she was shipped off with this stranger. While she wasn't happy about the arrangements, Stella had come to accept the fact that staying in witness protection and not breaking cover was for the best. It would keep everyone safe for the time being. If no one knew, then everyone was safe. That had been Donovan's main argument one afternoon when the two of them had gotten into a rather heated pissing contest.

"It will keep them safe," she had said. "Your parents, your brother and his family. It will keep _her_ safe."

Stella's head had snapped up at the comment. Did Donovan know about her against-regulation relationship with Shannon? The brunette's mind had been all over the place since she had been kidnapped well over a month before and almost half of that time had been spent in a medically induced come, so she had no idea what secrets she had spilt and which ones she had kept to herself. If she did spill the beans on Shannon, neither of them pushed the topic any further as Stella limped back into her room in a huff to sulk on the bed for a few hours, before coming out with her head down for some measly dinner.

A series of lights sneaking through the cracks in the blinds pulled her from her tired mind. Letting her head fall to the side, Stella saw the faint outline of the small analogue clock; twelve past five in the morning. She had been lost in her thoughts for well over half an hour. One of Donovan's lackey's would be coming in soon to check on her, wake her up or maybe even offer her the first shower if he was in a good mood. He was being kept from his family, so he understood what she was going through to an extent. The difference was that at the end of this time away, he got to go home to them.

The ring on her finger, Shannon's ring, was being twisted around, just below the knuckle when a shadow fell through the doorway. Donovan had been true to her word, managing to get the item returned to its rightful owner. But her necklace hadn't been 'buried' with her 'body. Someone in her family had kept it as a keepsake. Stella was sure that her parents had let Shannon hold on to it, after some prompting from her brother no doubt. The thought of them simply made her ring-spinning go faster until she realised what she was doing and was sure that her finger would come off.

"Up," came through the doorway. Stella lifted herself painfully onto her shoulders to see Donovan herself standing there instead of Scott. Her hair was wet and her usual crisp shirt hanging out from her jeans. She looked somewhat normal compared to the insanely professional front she put on all day, every day.

"Remind me, why we get up so fucking early if we do nothing but hang around this shit hole all day."

"Security," came back at her. "Shower's yours if you want it before the boys get in there."

Stella couldn't help but call out quietly as Donovan had shifted to walk away. "So what's the go for today? Just hanging around here being 'cautious'?"

The blonde woman came back to lean against the door frame and even in the darkness, Stella could see her glare. "You have a physio appointment at ten. Your handler will be here just after three. The two of you will stay here for another three days and be briefed on your backgrounds, before we send you on your merry way."

"Okay."

"'Okay'? That's it? You're not going to ask any more annoying questions?"

"I can if you would like me too," Stella shrugged, having pulled herself up and grabbed the small duffel bag at the end of the bed. It was easier to lug that into the bathroom with crutches then even attempting to juggle a small pile of clothes and not slip over on the water one of the Fed's usually left on the floor.

"Have your shower. Breakfast in an hour."

Stella shook her head, hopped into the bathroom and practically slammed the door behind her. If the boys weren't awake already, they were now. She had refused the use of a shower chair seeing as she was able to balance on her good leg and still manage to adequately wash herself. Her legs hadn't been shaved but the weather in the unknown town was worse than that of Melbourne's; it had been cold and drizzly for most of her stay so far so tracky pants were usually the best bet.

With a small bout of struggle, and a moment taken to remember to lock the door just in case, Stella held on to the one support bar inside the shower, and hopped under the steaming spray. Her back stung under the water, she was sure that her black wings would be bright red within seconds. Stella wanted to think that her troubles were being washed away as the water hit her still tense muscles. But she could tell that there was no change. The bottle her emotions were being shoved into was becoming quite full, its sides full of cracks ready to shatter if she couldn't scream or vent. There was no way that she could trust the people she was currently living with, no doubt she would receive vacant looks or a heap of crap from them just for even attempting to broach the subject. They weren't her therapists, not that she wanted one in the first place.

All in all, Stella had no idea how much she would be wishing for a therapist once her handler arrived.

When she finally limped out of the bathroom nearly thirty minutes later, hair wild from the water and a few drops sitting uncomfortably underneath her knee brace, a line appeared to have developed outside the door. Two of the boys were standing there, towels in hand and a toiletries bag in their hands. Morgan was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking rather anxious to get to the toilet.

"I'm pretty sure that me and Donovan used up all the hot water. Sorry guys," she winced at their grimaces, before dumping her clothes on the end of her bed, and began sorting and folding them.

Her eye caught sight of the ring on her finger and her heart panged almost painfully. She had had her breakdown in the shower, so pushing back the tears and the hurt, Stella left the sanctity of her room with her head held surprisingly high to see porridge sitting on the table. It was nothing but an eerie silence, occasionally interrupted by the whistle of the kettle of the stopping and starting of the shower until a file folder was dropped into her lap.

"What's this?"

"You're life. Start learning it," Donovan instructed softly. Everyone was over the whole situation, pretty much having been broken down by the lengthy exposure to each other.

She opened the folder to see a brand new driver's license, birth certificate, a family history, and a number of forms to be signed so she could claim her disability checks or even apply for a passport if she really wanted, not that the application would be approved.

"What's the background?" Stella asked curiously, turning around in her seat to face Donovan, as the agent looked through the curtains into the street.

"It's in the folder."

"Give me a rundown. You know this better than anyone."

Donovan sighed when she spotted the determined expression on her charges face. "You're an only child. Parent's died when you were a kid. You have a cousin, Chloe Anderson, who will be your handler. You're injuries are a result of a violent and failed relationship which has led you and your cousin to move to a new suburb in a new state for your protection and rehabilitation. No, you cannot move back to Victoria, or go anywhere near the city of Melbourne. Chloe already has a location set up for you, and if you don't like it...deal with it."

"Aww shucks." Stella continued to flick through her information the same way she did when the TR was presented with a tactical plan. She scanned it all in her own methodical way. "So what does my _cousin_ look like?"

"It's easier for you to just wait than to try and describe what she looks like."

"This is just adding a whole new level of mystery to your already enticing personality, Donovan."

"Get over it," came back distractedly.

She was still looking out the window, observing the figure of Morgan doing a quick perimeter check. Stella usually stopped asking questions about the AFP's protocols when Donovan or one of her lackeys trailed off in the middle of a conversation, but seeing as her handler was supposed to be arriving within the next twelve hours, she suspected that their levels of awareness were definitely going to be heightened. Maybe Stella shouldn't be considering a prank to lighten her day, but in reality there was very little around for her to do anything with, other than empty take out boxes and ageing newspapers.

"You'll have to dye your hair too," was spoken softly.

It barely caught Stella's attention but it did. "Come again?"

Donovan finally turned towards Stella, ignoring the figure of Stanton as he walked past the window, doing the periodical perimeter search.

"Your license photo has you as a blonde. You need to dye your hair before you leave," was explained to her. "And no, I won't help you."

"You're telling me that I can't even keep my hair colour?"

"Nope."

Stella sighed heavily and huffed angrily. It was literally the last thing she had left of her old life, and she was fully aware that that life didn't exist anymore, it wasn't an option, it was just a memory that she had to forget as soon as she could.

"What happens if I forget?" she asked.

"Forget what?" Stella held up the folder so Donovan knew what she was referring too. "You don't forget. And if you do, and if you screw it up bad enough, you get to learn how to be an entirely different person again, in an entirely different town, in another state, in the middle of fucking nowhere because now you and your handler have to work together, rely on each other to keep yourselves safe. Understand?"

Stella nodded reluctantly and tried to hop off towards her bedroom.

* * *

The door was open and she had seen Stanton walk passed out of the corner of her eye three times since breakfast. She was ready to throw one of her crutches in his direction; she had never been one to be able to throw straight, and as it crossed her mind, she could hear Shannon or Oskar or even Kerry saying that she had never really been able to do anything straight.

"Leah Elisabeth Gray," Stella said to herself as she was lying on her back on her bed, examining her birth certificate. She had seen fakes before, but this was completely legit. "I don't even look like a 'Leah'," she criticised. "I don't even look good as a blonde." She traded her birth certificate for her license and almost immediately cringed at the blonde version of herself.

"Born April nineteenth, nineteen eighty four. Well, I always did want to be older."

Various birthday events jumped into her head. Drinks with the Shannon and the boys and avoiding her family so the embarrassing photos wouldn't get pulled out for the past four years, opting for a phone call or a card in the mail instead. Her eleventh birthday when Frank ruined her cake and she spent nearly an hour chasing him with the angriest look her mother had ever seen on her face. Her sixteenth birthday sleepover that resulting in Oskar de-virginising one of her friends when her parents went out for dinner to avoid the gaggling group of teenage girls, and her twenty-first birthday night when she came home late the morning after much chagrin from her parents.

She had only had a few hours sleep, but surprisingly enough with the coffee she had begged Morgan to bring into her room, Stella was more than awake enough to go through her family tree. Apparently both of her parents, Peter and Maureen Gray, died in a car accident when she was eight, and after that she was sent to live with the only family she had left, her aunt and uncle and their only daughter Chloe. A woman she hadn't seen in close to a decade, but now due to the terrible circumstances of her abusive relationship, she was reconnecting with her 'cousin' and they were moving in together in some unknown town.

"Aww fuck," Stella whined to herself, double checking her licence. She was going to have to apply to change the address because it listed some place in Sydney as her current residence. There was no doubt that between herself and 'Leah', Stella and her alias had definitely gotten around the country a little. She also didn't doubt that wherever she was moving to probably didn't even have a bloody Centrelink.

It was like studying for her Year 12 exams all over again; rushing to do all of her last minute study. Hours up on hours were spent sitting on her bed, spreading out papers across the bedspread and eventually the floor. Her new life was literally splayed out for all to see, and any history of her former self had been buried with her empty coffin. A tear escaped her eye but that didn't stop her from a well-aimed throw of a pillow (the crutch was too heavy) in Stanton's direction when he stopped in the doorway.

It was going on two o'clock when a folder was flopped down underneath a sandwich on a paper plate that had been dropped onto the pile of scattered papers. Stella looked up to see Donovan stepping over pieces and piles on her way out of the room. She had been holed up in her room for going on four and a half hours, trying to learn everything she could about herself. It was an odd experience.

"You're handler will be here in an hour," she muttered. In the doorway, she turned, "in the folder is what you need to know about her."

The door was closed behind her, and Stella briefly suspected that she heard the door lock, something that was practically forbidden within the safe house. Taking a bite into her pathetically made Vegemite sandwich, she flipped open the folder for some new reading material. It became quite boring reading about yourself after at least an hour.

The second bite Stella had taken of her sandwich fell from her mouth and back onto the plate when the face staring back at her was all too familiar. It had been years since she had seen the face but not so long since she had heard the name.

"What the fuck is this?" she yelled through the locked door. Stella banged on the door heavily. "Donovan!"

All that came back to her was, "Keep reading!"

She let out a loud yell of frustration, one of her crutches hitting the wood sharply, before slumping down on her bed to continue reading for the next forty minutes. Or at least until she was let out of her current temporary prison before being catapulted into her new one. At least, she hoped it was temporary.

Stella's jaw simply dropped lower, the further she read into the file. There was no way that this was happening. The phrase had become an unwelcome commonality in her life, one that she would be grateful to rid herself of as soon as she could. It appeared that Donovan and her AFP lackeys had been playing a part in her, and the rest of the TR members lives for longer than she thought possible. The details barely sunk into her brain as she hurried to delve even further into the fake life of her handler, someone that had never even crossed her mind, despite all that had happened in the last few months. But at the same time, she felt the details practically slapping her in the face as memories came flooding back, and an overwhelming sense of...something she couldn't quite pinpoint took over.

She didn't notice the time slipping away, mostly because she had unplugged the clock to stop watching the numbers flick by excruciatingly slowly shortly after breakfast. There was a knock on the door, followed by some yelling, something about someone missing from the current situation. There was a click from the door and her head flicked up so fast she thought it would snap right off.

Anxiousness filled her chest, swelling from the pit of her stomach as the door was edged open slowly as if waiting for Stella to attack.

"Your handler is here, out in the lounge," Donovan said, when her head finally snuck through the doorjamb. She had a rather peeved look on her face. As an afterthought, she added, "leave the crutches behind."

Stella limped with little pain through the door and down the hall before finally coming into the lounge. Her handler was facing the window, arms crossed with a posture that was painstakingly familiar. She stood just a little taller than Stella, with the same athletic build. Dark brown wavy hair came to a stop just passed her shoulders against relatively pale skin.

Donovan dropped to the couch with a pleasant grin plastered on her face. "I'm sure you two have met."

That was when Stella's new best friend turned around. "Hey."

"Grace," Stella breathed.

* * *

It had been an excruciatingly long week for her. Since Charlie had arrived, she felt as if he was deliberately picking on her and she had no idea what she had done to deserve his unwanted attention. While they had made progress in finding the assassin responsible for the murder of the Police Minister, the Cicero task force had made very little advancements in discovering the reasoning behind the death in the first place.

It had been nearly four months to the day. It was still hard and something Shannon found herself simply going through the motions, but it was getting easier. As much as she loved most of her colleagues, all Shannon could feel was Josh, Lawson and Kerry smothering her in their attempts to keep her from strangling Michael and Charlie. The young Senior Constable had done nothing but find new ways to piss Shannon off, all the while feigning innocence about his wrong-doings. Twice, she had snapped at him after a comment about Stella and Charlie, and it was practically every day that she flat out refused to ride with him when they were on the job.

Off the job was another story. At the pub after the end of any particularly gruelling shift, when the new bartender at O'Malley's would hand feed them round after round of pots and Charlie would try to integrate himself into the team a little more, Shannon would disassociate herself from the group by taking the usually only available seat at the far corner of the bar.

It was either that, or getting dragged out in cuffs for killing either of them.

It had arrived at the point where she needed a night out, away from the boys and their meddling ways, but with people she knew. That way she could drink as much as she wanted and wouldn't have to worry about getting home, and two she wouldn't get hit on because she wouldn't be alone.

It had turned out that a few of her old friends from her academy days had organised a get together, a night out on the town, but in her desperation to keep Stella alive in her heart and her slow grieving process, any invitation from anyone outside of the Tactical Response group had gone unnoticed or accidently ignored.

They had found themselves inside one of the latest clubs in the city, and at the sight of all of the younger people grinding against each other suddenly made Shannon feel rather old. As soon as she had realised who was going to be attending their little shindig, Shannon had almost backed out instantly. They had been old mates for years; she didn't want to lose her shit at him purely because his name was Frank.

The night had progressed smoothly for most of the group of six, each taking turns to shout the next round of drinks, all the while interrogating each other on the progress of their love lives. Thanks to Kelly, a girl who had been in all the same classes at the academy as Shannon, her love life was kept off the table, with the one line that it was non-existent because work was way too busy.

It wasn't a complete lie.

By the time the four hour mark had come and gone, Shannon could feel herself slipping slightly. She was exhausted and a night out on the town probably wasn't the best idea she had ever had. The alcohol she had consumed was coursing through her veins, going straight to her head, and making her feel like a free-spirit again.

She didn't like it. She felt vulnerable and knew that it would come back around. Karma. All Shannon wanted was a night out, without having to worry.

For the most part, that was what she had gotten, until he came to close and she was dragged into the back alley. He was married, they were both drunk. His breath was uncomfortably hot, and his body heavy; she had specialist training but he was stronger. She said no. She knows she did. And when he didn't stop, instinct kicked in and she fought back, despite the growing fear that was gnawing at her insides.

She could feel the pressure and the already forming bruises, the cuts from where the wall she was against dug into her skins. It took a while, and a few screams that were drowned out by the pulsing music from the building behind them, before she could get away. She left him keeled over in pain, and slightly out of breath from the sudden knee to his privates, and took off running.

It was wet, and she was wearing heels, but still she didn't slip, trip or even roll an ankle in her desperation to get back into the view of the public, her safety net. Even when she did get out into the busy city street, Shannon stumbled, wrapped her jacket around her just a little tighter and tried to sink against the wall of the local pizza shop.

People were drifting up and down the footpath giving her absolutely none of their time, the occasional cop car doing patrol back and forth. The last thing she wanted was to be picked up by some rookies in uniform and have to identify herself as a TR member, there was no way that she could order them to let her go. And as much as she wanted to turn and walk the other way, her legs wouldn't move.

She didn't know how long she sat there against the cold wall for before she remembered that she had a phone in her jacket pocket. All she had to do was press a few buttons and anyone that she trusted with her life would be there to pick up the falling pieces as soon as possible. If she opened her mouth, she was sure that she would break down; telling Stella what had happened during her childhood had been hard enough, and that was with nearly two decades in between the event and spilling her secrets. This was way too fresh. She had shaken her head at the last three people looking to bum a smoke.

With one hand and shaky fingers, she shuffled around with her phone and managed to send a text out just after twelve-thirty without dropping the device. She knew he would be asleep, but she knew that he would come running at a moment's notice.

Her phone rang, and she jumped.

"Josh?" her voice was weak and quiet, muffled by the constant stampeding of people up and down the footpath.

_"Where are you?"_ he asked impatiently. She could hear the roar of his four wheel drive starting up.

"On Brunswick Street somewhere," Shannon muttered. "By Papa Joe's pizza."

_"Don't move. I'm coming to you,"_ he said.

She begged him to stay on the phone until he got to her. There was a voice in the background. Tash. She only hoped that they weren't bringing the fourteen year old along as well.

The phone was handed off and then she was talking to the blonde, unconsciously squeezing her legs together. Questions about her injuries were asked softly over the heavy engine on the other end, how long ago she had been attacked, any major contusion or wound that Tash would need to be aware of. Shannon wanted to tell her to go shove it.

It may have been a few month since Stella's death and Shannon may have been moving on, but this was just another obstacle she had to face. Without the brunette by her side, she wasn't sure how she was going to manage. Sure, she had Josh and Lawson and Kerry, but it wasn't the same. She needed her Stella.

She had been through the questions and the pokes and prods before, and it was one of the worst experiences she had ever had, feeling that vulnerable and exposed even as a child was terrifying. The sobs were getting harder to keep at bay, even in the openness of her current location. She could feel several sets of eyes on her back, and simply waited until Josh and Tash arrived, ignoring everyone that walked passed.

Typical.

Not one of them even offered to help her.

Maybe she really was al- "Shannon!"

Shannon turned her head slowly, seeing Josh shouldering through the crowds of people and Tash hanging onto the back of his jacket desperately as she weaved through them behind him. He stumbled to a stop in front of her, worry in his eyes. Shannon could feel her lip bleeding. She trusted Josh, and Tash, but that didn't stop her from flinching automatically when a hand was raised to wipe the small bead of blood.

He got a good look at her current state, and began looking around angrily as he was going to catch the culprit on the spot. He didn't want a simple apprehension; he wanted a chase, a hunt, a chance to pay back whatever had happened to Shannon.

As Josh began pacing slightly, forcing people to automatically walk around him in unknown fear, Tash managed to get closer to Shannon, her medical training kicking in as she checked the copper-haired woman for her injuries.

Bruises on her thighs.

Inside her knees.

A busted lip and a still-forming black eye.

Blood beneath her fingernails.

Closed off body language.

"Josh," Tash whispered a moment later, when she realised that Shannon didn't want to be specifically touched, either out of fear or pain, or even both. "Josh."

His body snapped around to face her, eyes softening at the sight of the blonde automatically. "What?"

"We need to get her to the hospital. Now," the doctor instructed.

"I don't think she wants to go," he started. "Shannon's smart alright? She wouldn't have called us to come here if she wanted to go. Cuts and bruises, you can check her out at home."

"She needs to get checked now, Josh! I don't have the necessary equipment _at home_ to perform these sorts of checks," Tash argued quietly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, eyes narrowed and spotting the patrol car puttering up the road.

"Josh, I think she's been raped."

The Senior Sergeant simply gaped at his girlfriend, positive that he never wanted to hear that phrase again about someone he cared for deeply. The anger only surged within him, he wanted the bastard dead or alive. Preferably dead.

"We need to get her to the hospital," she said.

"You need to get her to the hospital. I'm getting the Uni's, we're finding this guy now," he snarled. Tash knew how deep the bonds of the TR team ran, but she had never seen him this angry. Ever.

"I am sitting right here," Shannon said, watching the couple as they argued about her currently poor well-being.

"Shannon you need to go to the hospital, get checked out at the very least. Pressing charges is another matter all together," Tash pleaded. "You know the protocol for this."

Shannon's eyes flicked from the angry Josh to his girlfriend in fear. This couldn't get out, it could ruin her. Forget him, the idea of a female officer pointing the finger at a higher ranked member of the police force would crush her alone. Somehow it would be her fault; Shannon led him on, end of story.

"Shannon, you don't have to report it," Tash explained, "but you still need to get checked out. As soon as possible."

"I know," she snapped shakily. Her head hung in a quick apology; Tash knew not to take it personally after her years of experience. "I'm sorry. Josh?"

He came down to kneel in front of her, Tash off to her left with a few feet of space in between them. She knew not to crowd...victims. People were still watching, but not caring as much as they had been a few minutes ago. "He's mine. Do you know who did it?"

Shannon's hand snapped out and gripped the shoulder of Josh's jacket. "He...he can't be charged if you've killed him." It was a poor attempt at a joke, but the two of them shared a knowing glance.

"Hospital?" he asked, standing expectantly.

Shannon nodded. "You get to tell Kerry."

"That is harsh," he muttered with a joking grin and a knowing smile.

He couldn't help sighing when he felt her flinch under his hand. He had put his hand on her lower back with the intention of guiding her to the car, but let Tash take over and went about leading the way through the crowds silently as to not upset her anymore.

Shannon felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders, and a seatbelt buckled across her body. Tash had taken the back seat next to her, mainly because Shannon had all but refused to let go of the hand she had taken when they were walking through the crowd.

"Can you do the exam?" Shannon muttered, just as they pulled up to the hospital.

"As if I would let anyone else do it," Tash gave a small, lop-sided smile. Shannon tried to return the gesture, but only managed to re-split her busted lip again.

Contrary to popular belief, there was no side or backdoor of a hospital that could be used to sneak in through. Staff came and went in through the front just the same as visitors did. Security came through the front just the same as staff and visitors, but they knew all the shortcuts for a 'just in case' code black. You walked through the front door to the front receptionists desk, or through to the Emergency Room waiting area to fill out an endless amount of paperwork, depending on who you were with and how badly you were injured.

Shannon kept her head down as Tash guided her through the emergency entrance, swiping her key card a few times to get through the numerous sets of doors. There were a few nurses running ragged back and forth, several Doctors consulting with other professionals over scans or test results.

With one look at one of the nurses, Tash had a private exam room available with anything and everything she needed next to her within minutes. Protocol stated that another nurse had to be in the room, just to guarantee that there was no contamination of evidence and that the 'i's were dotted and the 't's' crossed.

Josh stood guard outside the room, mainly because Shannon wouldn't let him in, but it did have something to do with the few drunken louts who needed stitches a few bays back who had taken an instant liking to Shannon.

"This is gonna take a while," Tash warned, helping Shannon into a gown after documenting her physical injuries.

"I know," Shannon muttered, wincing as she adjusted herself on the exam table.

"Do you need a moment before we start?"

There was a moment's pause. "No."

* * *

It was very early the next morning, and the three of them had gotten next to no sleep. Kerry had arrived roughly half an hour before the Detective from the sex crimes unit had, just as Tash was finishing the exam. Josh was waiting outside the room with tired eyes, flashes of anger and anxiety could be seen occasionally. Shannon had been able to hear them talking 'quietly' outside, and their hushed discussion had quickly become heated; the Cicero Task Force leader declaring that she wanted this guy's head on a stick, before barging into the exam room, startling the nurse on hand. Tash hadn't even flinched as she finished, and covered Shannon up respectively.

The first thing to come out of the woman's mouth was not 'are you okay?', but, "what's his name?"

The second thing to come out was, "are you okay?"

Shannon had admitted to Josh that she knew who it was, and there was no doubt he would tell Kerry. She had yet to say his name all night. She only wanted to say it once, when she gave her statement to the Detective. Pointing the finger at another cop was always risky, but doing it twice in a matter of months was more than rare.

She was coping, holding it together. Barely, but she was managing. As soon as she was alone in the privacy of her own home, she would break, but only because no one would be there to watch.

A tear managed to escape.

Blood swabs had been taken.

Scrapings from underneath her fingernails.

Photographs taken of her injuries.

Hairs collected.

Fluids extracted.

The morning after will was administered.

Shannon's vulnerability was reaching a maximum at this point.

This was just another reason for her team mates to doubt her abilities without getting emotional. The topic of Stella was a definite sore spot within the team; a weakness according to Charlie. These things happen on the job, and they needed to accept it, move on. He had been met with a few cries of outrage, at least one threat of physical violence and the sound of a locker door slamming angrily.

Giving her statement was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but at the same time was adamant that it was just her and the Detective in the exam room when she explained everything.

Shannon still had yet to give Kerry and Josh her attackers name.

"So you know him?"

"Yes."

She knew him, she trusted him, as a friend and colleague but that didn't stop him.

"Are you absolutely positive that you just hadn't had too much to drink?" Even though Shannon understood the reasoning behind the question, it still made her angry. He just had to cover all of his bases, especially now. "That he didn't feel led on?"

"I wasn't pissed. I had two glasses of wine, barely touched the second one."

It was a long process, but she had rather get it all over and done with. She had work in a few hours.

He had explained his side of it all, how he was going to about it, if she would be needed again, and how to progress once he was arrested. She knew it all, but once again, he had to cover all of his bases.

Tash thankfully interrupted with the treatments she had to follow; Shannon couldn't stand the slightly contradicting tone she was receiving from one cop to another. The doctors hands were full with two trays; one of medications to take now, and the other with instructions she had to follow. She produced a cup of water from somewhere.

"Even if you know what going on with all of this," Tash waved her hands over the half covered hospital tray table, "I still need to go over it with you."

Shannon nodded reluctantly, accepting the weight that was going to be sitting on her shoulders for the next few months. It was nothing different to what she was already under.

"I'll be back in a moment, let you get changed," Tash offered. "I found some spare clothes in my locker."

"Thank you," Shannon whispered, her throat having gone rather dry.

As soon as she left the room, Tash found herself confronted with a rather angry task force leader and an increasingly angry and worried boyfriend. "What are the results?" he asked.

"Josh, you know I shouldn't be telling you this," Tash said. Despite being in a relationship with him, and having a shy, yet comfortable friendship with Shannon, there was still the matter of doctor-patient confidentiality, and unless Shannon agreed, Tash legally couldn't say anything. After the night she had had, the last thing she wanted was Josh getting arrested for acting without thinking. "I can't tell you either Kerry, even if you are her boss. It's been reported, it's in the system."

"Tash, you know the system can always screw up. Or it takes too long," Kerry said. "How is she?"

"Bruised and battered. And tired, and sore," Tash explained with a sigh, but at the looks on the faces of the two in front of her, her sigh fell again, even more heavily. "There were a few tears. He was rough. Two of them needed stitches. Physically, she seems to be alright. Nothing too damaging or debilitating, but it's her mental and emotional states that I'm more worried about. I heard about how she was after Stella died; what happened tonight, this could be her breaking point."

When she was dressed, which had been a slow and slightly painful process, Shannon found herself sitting in a cushy chair in an office down the hall. Tash was sitting next to her with everything spread out on the desk in front of them.

"I've made some appointments for you to come back; in two weeks we'll do a pregnancy test, and a second check for any sexually transmissible infections. We will have to do another physical examination to check on the stitches I had to put in. At the three, six and twelve month marks, you need get an HIV/AIDS check," Tash explained, waiting for Shannon to nod in understanding as she looked at the appointment sheets in her hands. There was a shaky breath from next to her, before she continued.

"Okay you have to take these until they're finished," she explained, moving the small basket of medications. "Prevention antibiotics for HIV and STI's. There are a little on the heavy side, so may feel nauseous, so there are some anti-nausea pills in there too. Some codeine painkillers are in there just in case anything becomes rather painful. And some sleeping pills, if you think you need them. It may hurt to use the bathroom for a little while, maybe a week or two; that's expected. In the bag there are anonymous counselling services, but I'm sure there are some available within the force. Do you have any questions?"

Shannon kept herself quiet for an extra few beats, before shaking her head. At this point, she just needed to get home, before she broke down. Although the discussion she had yet to have with Kerry was going to bring it on sooner, she could feel her brain shutting down on her. She was numb.

"You have my number, if you need anything or if something is worrying you, call me, alright?"

"Yeah."

"How you doing?" Tash asked, carefully eyeing Shannon for a reaction. Everything about the doctor's tone and body language had changed. While she had been completely professional up to that point, she was now softer, reaching out for Shannon's hand. It was instinctive as a friend, despite that her professional side was screaming at her to keep her hands together. It was no surprise for the immediate flinch.

"I'm okay," her voice broke.

"Kerry's still waiting outside. She appears to be rather desperate to talk to you."

"Yeah, I know."

That's when Shannon found herself moved into another conference room, a coffee in front of her on the table, Kerry across from her and Josh pacing by the door. He was rather antsy and it was frankly beginning to put her on edge. She was seconds away from yelling at him to stop, when Kerry opened her mouth.

"I want you to take a couple days, see someone."

Shannon shook her head. "I want a routine. I need a routine. We have today off anyway. I don't need to see someone either.

"Who is he?" she asked quietly. This got Josh to stop pacing, his head snapping up as he watched impatiently.

Kerry could see Shannon eyeing the Senior Sergeant, obviously not wanting to say anything in front of him, fearful of this.

"No. I've said everything I have to say to the Detective earlier. I'm not telling you, because he," Shannon pointed to Josh, "will go on a rampage. I know what you do when you get an idea in your head, Josh. I reported it, like Tash suggested. You beating the ever loving shit out of this guy will do me no good!"

"I've never seen you so protective of someone who could do something like this, especially to a cop," he argued.

"He is a cop!"

Her tone and words left both of them momentarily stunned. She stood stiffly and just before she left the room, faced the both of them.

"This stays between us. The last thing I need is Charlie on my back about another thing, or the boys thinking that I can't do my job!" Her face was slightly contorted with anger and determination, but at the same time there was an inkling of fear trickling into her expression.

"Shannon!" Kerry called out, just as her last female officer turned through the doorway. "I understand that you've been through a bit tonight, but you need to understand that if you don't see a counsellor about this, anonymous or not, I will have to bench you."

"So if I don't see someone, I'm suspended?" she asked Kerry, with a look of unbelieving questioning on her face. She had been attacked by someone she trusted, accepted the embarrassment she felt with an exam, and then targeted for details about the attack. Now she was being threatened with suspension if she didn't seen anyone? Her night, and now day, just kept getting better and better.

"Yes," Kerry said. "It's harsh I know, and you probably want to shoot me at this point, but I need to know that you're on the ball with your job. I'll give, alright. This stays between us on and off the job, but without proper counselling after everything that has happened in the last six months, I'm worried about the implications this could have for you."

"I was just raped, and you're worried about my job?" Shannon yelled back.

"On one hand yes, but that is not my main concern."

"Then what is?" Shannon challenged her boss.

"Your mental health! You have been through a lot in six months Shannon, hell the last twelve months. More than what any cop would. More than a lot of people would experience in their entire lives. If this is your breaking point, I need to know, so I can make sure you get the appropriate treatments."

"You mean so you know when you have to replace me," Shannon snapped.

"You are not going to get replaced. I promise you that," Kerry swore to the young woman. "I just want to know that you're okay, that you're doing okay, and if you're not, that you are getting help."

Josh was watching the exchange with slight curiosity of where this was going, and then slight fear of when the smack down was going to actually happen. Kerry looked as if she was ready for a fight, but Shannon felt like she was ready to run. With all the problems in her life at the moment, running seemed like the best option. If only she could physically run without spikes of pain shooting through her body. Give it a few days and she would be out on the streets, or even at the gym if she didn't feel entirely safe.

Her chest was heaving with an anger she didn't realise had been building up inside of her.

"I'm fine," she breathed out slowly. She needed to get home. Her mind was beginning to speed up and she knew that her body was going to crash soon.

She needed to get home.

"I'll see you at work."

"Shannon!" Josh called.

"Just leave me alone!"

* * *

I know it took a while, but I hope you enjoyed it!


	35. The Acute Aftermath

**It has been way tooooooooooooooooooooooooo long and I apologise for it dearly. Uni has kicked my arse hard this semester and not in a nice way. It gets in the way, education, don't do it kids. I'm kidding.**

**Okay just a quick note about this chapter. It touches on Shannon's rape a little more, so if you have been directly affected or know someone who has been anything I have written is not meant to offend if it does. I quickly googled it and what I got was from wikipedia.**

**In A Rush - I told you I would get this up, did I not?**

**K - hope this was too. It's a little shorter than usual but I wanted to get the next chapter up :D**

**SpinningTop-01 - You will have to continue reading to know if Josh and Grace do meet again...**

**insanedairyfarmer - answer your tumblr messages! that is all.**

**LadyBelle84 - I have definately not forgotten about this. School is a pain in the arse.**

**So, let me know what you think. It took a little longer, because I lost the plot literally. I couldn't remember how I was going to connect everything. I'm an idiot I know but ENJOY!**

* * *

It was still early. Shannon had caught a taxi home in a deliberate attempt to avoid getting a lift home from the hospital from Kerry or Josh, and finally reached the front door of her house just before six. Just as the sun was coming over the row of houses on the other side of the park, to light up the windows, she slid her key into the lock. Being awake to witness a sunrise, the birth of a new day, had always held a significant meaning for Shannon. It gave her an overwhelming sense of being able to brush off the worries of the previous day as bad luck or not being able to get to her anymore. It meant that she could start fresh, although sometimes it took more than just one day for her stresses to disappear. She had many a time woken bleary eyed or sometimes not even slept at all just to get a glimpse of the rising sun.

Now all it signified was a walk of shame after an act that could no longer be hidden by the darkness. Everybody could see her, judge her and deem her a harlot.

Shannon knew a lot of things. She knew that Stella loved her, despite breaking her promise not to leave her. She knew that even though she pushed them away, Josh and Kerry had her back. With anything. She knew that the assault wasn't her fault at all, that it was no one's fault but _his_, but that didn't stop the guilt and anxiety and regret and pain swelling up in the pit of her stomach. She knew that would be after effects and side effects, but she was strong. As a person she had overcome many hardships in her life, this would just be another she would have to endure.

The dull throbbing beneath her darkening bruises only added to her growing sensations of queasiness. Almost all of her remaining energy was used to turn to occasionally stubborn lock over in order to enter the unit. With an open front door, Shannon turned to the fading garden bed that followed the path, only to empty her already bare stomach contents onto the soil. She dropped to her knees and felt the pale stones that highlighted the pavers digging into her skin and scraped kneecaps. It was just another pain to add to her growing list of physical and emotional injuries.

In the back of her mind, and slowly entering her thoughts on a more conscious level, Shannon was aware that she was close to breaking point now that she was alone. The overwhelming feeling of stomach acid on her tastebuds simply brought the inevitable break down on faster. As she crawled over the threshold, having questioned her ability to lift herself entirely to her feet, the tears had begun to slip, despite her efforts. Her bottom lip had dropped and her chin was trembling. Painfully, her body began to shake painfully as the door had barely clicked shut behind her.

True to her beliefs, she knew that as soon as she was in the sanctity of her own home, a privacy no one could invade unless she let them in, that she would crack. Shannon simply anticipated that she would have made it a little further than doormat. Ignoring the almost white hot pain in her shoulder, she had curled onto her side and tried to condense herself as much as possible although with great difficulty. The pressure of having people watching her was enough to encourage her to forcibly keep a lid on it, so to speak. She hated the idea of letting anyone seeing her crack and break into a thousand tiny pieces. Letting Stella in had been hard enough; previous failed relationships usually resulted from her inability to let boyfriends at the time get closer than Shannon thought was necessary.

Shannon had no idea how long it took until she was almost entirely worn out following her emotional collapse, before her breathing grew heavier and the sobs settled enough so that her tears weren't from physical pain. Wincing as she pushed herself into a seated position against her door, Shannon took in the houses interior from her spot on the doormat. Through bleary eyes, there was an overwhelming feeling of her physical inferiority when compared to the size of her house. With over seven billion people in the work, her problems at the present time were miniscule when stacked against bigger and much more complex issues in the world.

At least that was what she had managed to temporarily convince herself as, with heavy limbs and an even heavier heart, Shannon forced herself up to stand up and shove away the dizzy spell threatening to overcome her senses. She had a life to get on with, and after the last six months, she was sick of feeling like all that was ever happening to her anymore was the world kicking her while she was down. As much as Shannon wanted to ask 'why, why was this happening to me', she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. Her mindset wasn't going to maintain itself for very long, so she had to act now. Using the outside of her wrist, in an effort to avoid the sore knuckles of her hand, she wiped her nose and trudged up the stairs.

Her first port of call was the bathroom; she had been poked and prodded, tested and examined, and now she was allowed to clean herself up. Dropping the bag of medications and instructions she received from Tash onto the top of the bathroom counter, Shannon eyed herself in the mirror. A headache had formed sometime before her argument with Josh and Kerry; her split lip had reopened itself and the bruising around her eye has darkened slightly but beneath some make up would hardly be noticeable. Although the fatigue and anxiety was clearly displayed on her face in the form of deep bags beneath her eyes.

Starting the shower, ensuring that the temperature would be scalding enough to entirely cleanse her body, Shannon let the water heat up as she began to inspect her injuries with a little more attention. She should be able to hide nearly everything from other people. She could blame the busted lip on something every day, as long as she remembered her story later on. Melbourne's weather was being just as temperamental as it usually was, giving her the opportunity to wear warmer clothes. The only thing that she wouldn't be able to hide at work was the slight bruising on her hand. And the scratch marks at the base of her neck that she had only just spotted, sitting beneath the collar of the t-shirt Tash had leant her. With a quick wave of pain and another bout of dizziness that was quickly pushed away, the plain shirt was shrugged from her shoulders and thrown at the floor.

Her muscles throbbed just a little more than the bruises that were marring her shoulder. There were some more scratches in the middle of the purple and blue handprint on her ribs. Turning around to determine the damage done to her back, she saw what looked like a bite mark just beneath her shoulder blade. On her lower back, an odd shaped bruise had formed from being held against something behind the club. She couldn't help the involuntary shudder that shook her body.

The scrub pants came off next, and she found that she was unable to spread her legs very far without pain making itself known both on the inside and outside of her body. She grimaced at the sight of dried blood on the pants and made a mental note to burn them later, sure that Tash wouldn't want them back. There was bruising on the inside of her thighs, and even more just above her knees, painful without the material of her pants to act as a buffer of sorts. Half-moon cuts were strewn haphazardly across her hips and the tops of her thighs.

Removing her underwear and stepping under the spray without a second thought, Shannon gasped loudly and cursed her haste to rid her body of her constant reminder as the water turned her gently pale skin red in an instant. The tiny cuts and layers of skin that had been scratched away stung painfully across her body, even more so when her loofa was dug into her flesh and covered her in soap. The pain alone was enough to bring a few more tears to her eyes from her already empty supply. She wasn't sure how much pain her body could take from shaking so hard with her sobs.

The sun had more than made its presence known on the residents of Melbourne's northern suburbs by the time Shannon stepped out of the shower. The water had long gone cold. At this point, having not had anything to eat in well over twelve hours and having not slept in well over thirty six hours, all Shannon wanted was to feel safe and to sleep for as long as she could, because it meant she could disappear into her dreams and live a different reality. One that she wanted and one that she desperately craved.

Shannon could count the number of times she had slept in her bed since Stella's death on one hand; the couch had become her spine's new best friend with a specific love-hate relationship. She couldn't keep sleeping downstairs though, especially seeing as she had continued to replace her clean clothes in her drawers.

After taking her time to dress, carefully choosing her clothes to sleep in as ones that she thought she would feel most safe in. She thought her thought processing as stupid, even though as police officer and hostage negotiator she had a deeper than normal understanding of how people operate under their stressors. Naturally, her hands gravitated towards items of Stella's clothing that she had not yet had the heart to throw away.

Closing the bedroom blinds didn't do much to deter the sun, and after deciding that she would get thicker curtains later on, Shannon pegged a black towel to the top of the blinds. In her hand she held the sleeping pills Tash had prescribed her, and a glass of water. She hated taking pills in any context, but after her ordeal, there was very little energy left within her to argue with herself.

Wincing, she let them slide down her throat with a wave of water and painstakingly slowly crawled under the covers. There was a scent lingering in between the sheets, and Shannon smiled softly to herself. It was powerfully overwhelming her senses, although the familiarity didn't faze her in the slightest. She welcomed it completely, with the physical and psychological fatigue having exhausted her entirely.

On the back of her eyelids danced a beautiful brunette pulling her into a nightmare-less world.

* * *

"Grace," Stella breathed. It was the fourth or fifth time she had repeated the woman's name since the figure in front of her and turned to face her completely. She was finding it difficult to believe that there was a ghost standing in front of her in the flesh, but at the same time, Stella could see a mirrored look staring back at her beneath a mask of faux confidence.

"Stella," Grace had replied with strength, to each calling of her name. Unable to take it once more, she connected Stella's thought's for her. "Yes, I am alive and well. Thanks for asking."

"I didn't ask," came back at her snappily. Despite her confusion about the situation, she understood how it had happened and why but it didn't stop her essentially voicing those questions. "What the fuck, Donovan!"

Stella could feel the anxiety radiating from Morgan and Scott behind her. Instinctively at her outburst, the two agents had reached for their weapons holstered on their hips. Neither woman flinched.

"What?" asked the Federal Agent, who was still lounging on the couch. "You read the file. End of story."

Stella turned to Grace without bothering to acknowledge the answer Donovan had given her. "No. Not 'end of story'. Explain it to me, just to make sure that I understand this completely."

"This is going to be a long day isn't it?" Grace asked, crossing her arms.

"You got that right. Now start explaining, _Chloe._"

"Sure thing, _Leah_," Grace raised her hands in surrender and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. "But seeing as we have more history in this reunion than everyone else here, how about we make it a little bit more private. What do you say, Donovan?"

"Go for it," she answered. At the looks of almost utter fear on the men's faces, she reassured them. "Oh relax, you wimps. Both of you take a room to guard or trade off with the other two. And when you two are finished in here, you and I need to have a chat Grace."

"Yeah," she muttered, avoiding eye contact and surveying the quality of the house.

As soon as the three agents were gone, and another had made another routine pass by outside the window, Stella turned to Grace with a glare.

"How much do I need to fill in here for you?" was thrown in her direction. Any chance at a nice and calm conversation was destroyed by the tone in Grace's voice.

"You're supposed to be dead," Stella muttered. "All this time, you've be hiding."

It was a strange feeling to be staring at someone that was supposed to be six feet under, the same way she was supposed to be now. She had said goodbye to a colleague and to an extent a friend, and watched as the people around her had struggled with the loss, especially Josh. Connor had been in her mind as they grieved but as time passed any thoughts of the widower left her mind.

"The same way you will be," Grace answered her. "I married the mob. I had ideas about what was going on; he had started being more secretive, all those apparent business trips were not for the landscape business, that was pretty much a bust yet the shared account seemed to have more money that I was bringing in from work. By the time the explosion happened, Connor knew about my affair with Josh, he didn't need me to tell him, he knew who his father was. Buczek knew who I was. When the explosion happened, it was one of Buczek's enemy's getting back at him. We just happened to be there. But when they realised just who was responding, it was an added bonus."

"It was never linked to Buczek in any way," said Stella. "The explosion wasn't aimed at him."

"No, you were never told about a connection. It's at the Federal level Stella, its high end crime; you were never going to be made aware unless the Fed's needed you."

"Do you know?" Stella dropped her crutches, and dropping into an opposing seat. Connections in her mind were started to come alive.

Grace sighed. "Buczek owned the company that was targeted."

"Okay so let me get this straight. You married Connor, then he found out about Buczek, started becoming daddy's new best friend, you start finding out and having an affair with Josh, then you 'died'?" Stella asked. This was way too interrelated for Stella to comprehend, especially when her pills had only kicked in an hour before.

"Pretty much. Although you forgot that I died because of a conflict between Buczek and someone else."

"Who?" Stella all but demanded.

"Don't know, don't care. I have a life as Chloe Anderson, I don't need to know anything other than what is going to keep my alive until I need to testify in court."

Stella paused, almost unwilling to take the answer for what it was. She could see that Grace knew more than she was letting on, whether it was by Donovan's choice or her own was what was confusing her. Stella felt like Grace was almost challenging her to make a move as a stifling silence settled over them.

She clenched her jaw. "Josh-,"

"Don't!" Grace said sharply, standing from her seat. "That is a low blow so do not even dare go there. I know what I left behind, I know _who_ I left behind. But this is me keeping them safe. This is a whole hell of lot bigger than just me and Josh, and me and Connor."

"Oh please," Stella scoffed. "Have they brainwashed you or something? You're just regurgitating the same bullshit Donovan has been spilling out. Do you even know who Connor is these days? The person he has turned into?"

"I don't want to know!"

"He is the reason that I'm standing in front of you right now. He is the reason that I can't walk without need crutches, Grace. He and my brother, my fucking brother, are the reason that I'm here," Stella whispered. "Don't you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn't gotten together with Josh when you did?"

"Yes! Yes, alright, I do. I have wondered and thought and dreamt of what _could have happened _but because of the situation I am in, I can't dwell on it and neither can you," Grace's voice had evened out from her defensive tone. "I may not want to know about Connor or Buczek unless I absolutely need to know, but I know about other things. We are more alike than you realise, Stella. Right now, I'm all that you have."

"What do you know?" Stella asked. There was a fleck of doubt in her mind about being able to trust a dead woman, but did that mean that she couldn't trust herself? It may have been over two years since they last saw each other, but their attitudes towards each other had not changed a bit. If they were going to be dependent on each other, there had to be a level of trust.

They had once been considered family; Kerry and Lawson were the parents and to an extent they were siblings. For the sake of the analogy in Stella's mind, they were step-siblings because she couldn't for the life of her understand who would want to be related to Leon. The idea of family had grown since Grace's death, even more so once Shannon had become a key part of their group. Just because they were, or used to be, family didn't mean that they had to get along or that there wouldn't be arguments.

"Why are you so desperate to get home? Who are you so desperate to get home to?" Grace asked with a knowing smile.

"Why are you so desperate to stay and live some bullshit lie?!" Stella asked again. "What do you know? What has Donovan told you?"

"I know that you and I are more alike than you think. We both left someone, Stella," Grace said with a soft voice. "We both lost family, but we both left that someone."

She knew. Grace knew about Shannon. "You don't know shit about me Grace. A lot changes in two years, people change." Stella was sure that she knew.

"I know more than you think I do. Trust me."

There was almost a look of defeat on Grace's face, faltering from her apparent confidence to practically needing to beg and pleading Stella to simply go with it, like the Stella she used to know. But how much of the woman standing in front of her was the woman she did know before she disappeared off the face of the earth to apparently be buried six feet beneath it?

"Trust you?" Stella scoffed. It was a defensive mechanism, nothing more. If she was completely honest with herself, she actually just wanted to give the person standing ten feet away a hug, just to make sure that she was really real and that there was someone there with her, that she wasn't alone in this terrifyingly unfamiliar place. "Why should I trust you?" she asked quietly.

"Because I-," she paused briefly. Donovan had returned, and Grace took a few steps forward so she could lower her voice. "Because I see the same look in your eyes, the same anger and the same defeat and the same hesitancy to trust Donovan to make sure they are safe written all over your face that I used to see when I would look in the mirror in the mornings. All you can do is trust me when I say I understand how you are feeling completely. I get the fear and the anger and wanting to hate the people who put you here, but it is to protect you, and to protect your family. Stella you know how the system works. We aren't the only ones in protection who want to take Buczek, and Connor, and anyone else related to this, down.

"So yes, I am asking to trust me. I am asking for you to blindly trust me and just accept this for now. Once we leave the safe house and leave Donovan in this shit hole, it does get better. You have to live as someone else, yes, but you still have control over your new life."

"I want control over my old life, Grace. I don't want a new one."

"It's only temporary, I promise."

Lawson jumped into her head, something he would always remind them of when dealing with someone, victim or perp. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I promise, Stella," Grace repeated, stronger than the feeble attempt she had made to convince the seated woman.

All Stella could do was take it at face value for what it was; the first bit of hope she felt she had received since she woke up from her coma.

* * *

She had been sitting in her car for almost twenty minutes. Just sitting in the driver's seat trying to catch her breath and calm herself before walking into base. Shannon was expecting a long talk from Kerry, and an even longer one from Josh, about her choices: either counselling or suspension and either to let him in or to push him away. She knew they both cared, and wanted what was best for her on and off the job. She wanted space but she had to work, otherwise there would be questions from Charlie and the rest of the team, and no doubt Leon doing his bit to get information.

The day before, her day of solitude, Shannon had spent nearly all of it asleep in the bed she hadn't used properly in months. There were no nightmares, and only a few rare dreams, mostly of Stella. Overall she had managed to get the first peaceful night's sleep since Stella had died and she had taken to the couch in a silent emotional strike to not let it get to her too much. That hadn't worked very well. By the time she had managed to wake up, it was early afternoon and her stomach was grumbling almost painfully. Having struggled to move her then stiff body, food was consumed slowly and some bruising was inspected and an icepack was dug out from the back of the freezer. Work was going to be difficult, but knowing Kerry and Josh they would be keeping an eye on her and giving her the easier jobs.

From where her car was parked, she was able to see almost perfectly into the garage; the boys were running around probably under Charlie's orders doing the regular morning inventory of the lock box and supply bags. Despite having taken her time to make it to work to avoid as much time with Josh and Kerry, she was still early and continuously ignoring answering her mobile until absolutely necessary. She was beginning to feel desperate for peace from them; the day before she had finally charged her phone and discovered fourteen calls from the both of them, and nine text messages. It was like they were tag teaming her to suss out a response. One of the last things she needed at this point was to be ganged up on.

With ten minutes left before she was actually considered to be late for work, and four missed calls lighting up her phone screen, Shannon pushed herself up and out of the car, blatantly ignoring the slight surge of pain she felt scream through her body. She felt sick, especially after her cocktail of medications she had popped with a pathetically made breakfast.

She wrapped her scarf a little tighter around her neck, self-conscious about the bruising on her collarbone.

"Morning," said Josh. He had been walking towards TR2 to drop off one of the supply bags.

"Morning," Shannon replied, acting as if nothing had happened. She had googled the common reactions to a sexual assault after her measly dinner the night before and discovered that there was no typical response, but it was apparently not unusual to act as if it didn't happen. It allowed to her to have some control over the situation, and try to feel as normal as possible, despite how untrue that actually was.

"Ouch," said Michael, taking the bag and depositing it into the back of the open vehicle.

"Hi," she muttered, and as an afterthought added _'tool'_ to her internal conversation.

"Oooh. Not pretty," said Christian.

'_You have no idea,'_ she said to herself.

"Warning: Lawson is on a little rampage about why you are late, and Kerry has been covering," was the first piece of notable information to leave the man's mouth. "You didn't call me back at all yesterday. Or Kerry. We've been worried that you-"

"That I what? Might have done something stupid?" Shannon almost snapped in a hushed whisper. "I'm here, aren't I? I literally just walked in the door, Josh. Did you ever think I may have just wanted some space? On top of that my phone died and I spent the day sleeping. Tash gave me some sleeping pills."

"If you got a good night's sleep, then why do you look like shit?" Charlie asked over Josh's shoulder. How much had he heard?

"It's none of your fucking business," Shannon called out casually, removing her scarf carefully and sharing a look with Josh.

"It is my business though," said Lawson, following Charlie a moment later and turning right into the locker room instead of continuing into the garage. "No wonder you're late. How many did you take?"

"The prescribed amount," Shannon exclaimed, before moving the topic away from herself and onto the boys under Josh's watchful eye. Having seen this before, there was no doubt that Tash had explained common attitudes following a trauma of any kind to him when they went home. "What is going on?"

If Lawson noticed the topic change, he didn't bother bringing it up. "The hit man who killed the Police Minister has started talking. Someone in prison tried to kill him last night, so he needs our protection. Charlie put a deal to him."

She looked up at him momentarily, but then dropped her gaze and continued to remove her shoes.

"Ah, everyone has been working flat out, since the wee hours of this morning," he stated, making her feel worse that she already had. She had deliberately declined his phone calls as well as Leon's, Kerry's and Josh's all morning.

"It's a bit ironic, isn't it? He kills the Police Minister and now he needs our help-"

"Shan!" Lawson exclaimed. "We are about to do a high-risk escort. He's taking us to the gun. Now."

"Oh," she muttered.

"That is why there is ten messages on your phone from me and probably a few from Charlie," he explained.

"Shit." She had had a shit weekend, and her first day back was not going to be as good as what it could have been. "Okay, I'm coming."

"Yeah," Lawson said knowingly as he walked away. "You're riding with Josh to get the girlfriend."

Shannon glared at her former boyfriend. "Did you change it around again?"

"Would I do that? Get dressed and I'll meet you in the car. Get you up to date," he smiled gently.

He had changed it around, she could tell. From what she had been told, which was the bare minimum, the day wasn't going to be a difficultly taxing day, but he had made sure that she didn't have to push herself physically. Emotionally was another story completely; she would just have to really watch herself around the boys, and this woman they were supposed to be escorting.

Shannon couldn't change in the locker room, otherwise the boys would see the scratches and bruising up her back and on her legs, but going to showers meant risking having to see Kerry and that was a conversation she wasn't quite ready to have. Trying not to be obvious that she was avoiding the Cicero taskforce leader, Shannon glanced around the corner and then made a mad dash for the showers. No Kerry, or Leon. Physically getting changed took longer than it should have. It had been hard enough to make herself look relatively presentable before coming into work. She couldn't quite move as far in certain directions without spikes of pain, and pulled her boots on quickly.

Shannon was driving. She could do that, and if she couldn't she knew Josh wouldn't have a problem with swapping later on. Her slide into the driver's seat looked more graceful and less painful than what it actually was. With a little grunt Shannon adjusted herself in the seat and pulled the seatbelt on.

She briefly wiped a stray tear, suddenly thankful that she was riding with Josh. It meant that she didn't have to explain why she looked and felt like utter crap. She could relax a little more around him and didn't have to watch what she said or didn't say, or what she did or didn't do. She wanted to visit Stella, even just to sit with her so she could have space but not feel entirely alone in a world that just got a little scarier.

"Thanks for changing it around," she muttered, refusing to make eye contact and trying to look busy with adjusting the mirrors.

"No worries," Josh smiled. "Just tell me if you have any trouble with anything, that's all I ask, and I can keep Kerry off your back around the counsellor."

"Okay," Shannon whispered. There was a honk from TR1 out in the car park. They were waiting for Shannon and Josh to leave the garage.

"Let's go," Josh ordered, pulling out the file to inform Shannon of their days work.

It was going to be a long day, she could feel it.

* * *

**Episode 2 will continue in the next chapter!**


	36. The Guilt Trip

**I'm back bitches! I apologise profusely for the length of time between updates. I got busy and then I went overseas again and then I went back to work and uni and it just hasn't stopped. But if anyone is still reading this. Here you go, just for you. Please don't kill me for what I am doing to these girls. **

***cowers in fear***

* * *

Even though there was still no identification of the date or time, it felt like the days were going slower for Stella. An unsettling awkwardness had settled over the safe house that was Stella's temporary prison. She had reluctantly and grudgingly agreed to simply go along with it for the sake of keeping her grieving family and friends alive. At least that was what she had convinced herself to believe. If the ones she loved where safe, she guessed that she could endure the torture that would be her company for the next who knew how long.

Stella was keeping to herself. In the two days that had passed since Grace's quite turbulent yet terrifyingly smooth re-entry into her life, she had spent every waking moment of free time in her room, with the door closed despite Donovan's constant protest. The past forty-eight hours had been nothing but showering, eating, completing her rehabilitation exercises, and feeble attempts to sleep. Stella's demeanour towards Grace, and subsequently the agents assigned to protect them, had been rather cold and frosty. It was the only way that she could focus long enough to make sense of just what was going on. Tomorrow or early the day after, depending on how well they could convince Donovan that Stella would be able to stick to her new identity, or that Grace could make sure of it, they would be trading one bum-fuck for another. They would be Leah and Chloe until otherwise specified.

Even despite Grace's attempts to discuss their unfortunately intertwined immediate future, or even ask questions she had made clear she didn't want the answers to about the past she should have been a part of, Stella kept herself quiet. For now it was easier for everyone if her mouth stayed shut and she simply listen and accept what was happening. A clear head would be better further down the track for her and Grace; Stella would be able to follow their story with more ease than the difficulty she had been experiencing simply trying to process the idea.

The only problem Stella could see with her plan of remaining silent during this time was that, even though she would deny it if anyone else pointed it out, she had a habit of letting things boil under the brim for a little too long. It usually resulted in her snapping at someone unnecessarily and only after would a long and honest discussion happen. She couldn't do that anymore. She was now Leah and according to the personality description in her file, Leah didn't do that. The learning curve was going to be ridiculously steep for Stella.

School had never been her favourite activity but now she was actively studying like there was no tomorrow. Forcing herself to memorise her new birthday and age, details about her family became her task; when they left the safe house to be Chloe and Leah, there would be no more file to fall back on to clarify if it was April 19th or April 16th, and what her parent's names were. She repeated them in her mind, as casually as possible, trying not sound robotic or manufactured. If she was asked on the spot, as Donovan had been popping her head in with questions, she had to make it sound as natural as she could.

"Where were you born?" was thrown her way just before Grace served them a healthy style of meat and vegetables for dinner on their last night.

"Perth," she muttered distractedly. She sighed as she took in the sight of her lamb chops on her plate. They had been cut up to save any possible pressure on her shoulders. "Sauce?"

A bottle was dropped onto the table in front of her and she started eating in silence.

"Birthday?" Donovan asked with a mouth full of meat.

"May tenth-"

"Wrong."

Stella knew this. She was just out of it a little. Earlier in the day she overheard something during her exercises just after lunch. It had had her forming questioning in her mind all afternoon, trying to decipher what it meant. "Ahh, April nineteenth."

It had been getting easier to walk without her crutches. One of the rehabilitation exercises had her walking short distances without assistance of any kind. The hallway outside of her room was the best place to practice. It was narrow enough to be able to reach out on both sides if she needed. The hallway was also apparently the best place to listen in on conversations in passing. She didn't eavesdrop, Stella swears she didn't. They just happened to be talking without the door fully closed, probably per Donovan's orders again. She had caught a glimpse through the rather large gap in the door not long after breakfast. Grace had tried to walk out of the room under the guise of talking to Stella, but her elbow was gripped sharply and she was spun around to face the agent in charge.

It had been the same kind of discussion every time Stella had seen the two of them alone. Grace seemed to be doing the same thing Stella was; avoiding any specific time alone with the agent in charge. Donovan's eyes were accusing and angry whenever she wasn't able to verbally speak to the blonde.

"You knew the protocol and you knew the rules. Both of you were supposed to show up, _Grace!_" exclaimed Donovan harshly. Stella could hear the frustration in Donovan's voice as she used the woman's birth name. Since Grace had arrived at the safe house, both women had been adamant about calling each other by their Witness Protection identities. Usually Stella would roll her eyes, because there a sense of falseness in the tone that smirked 'Leah' across the room.

"And I told you, we haven't been there that long-"

"Then why didn't you bring her? Leave her in the hands of someone you barely know?"

"She's safe where she is. I've said it before. There is only so much constant moving I can do without doing damage to her mentality. She needs some stability. I cannot keep shuffling her around. Moving is hard enough, it's harder with a-"

"This conversation is over," said Donovan. Donovan had caught the movement of Stella out of the corner of her eye. The brunette busied herself with turning around and balancing herself, making a show of testing out the feeling in her knee. Donovan looked back at Grace. "For now."

"What's up her butt?" Stella asked.

"I'll tell you later," Grace muttered, pushing past to check out the fridge as for what was for lunch.

"Tell me now?" Stella asked.

Grace simply ignored her and pushed on into the kitchen. She had taken up the role of resident chef during their stay. Stella couldn't complain; it was better than the gruel the boys had been attempting to serve up. The meals she made painfully reminded her of her mother's cooking; those homemade ones made from scratch that had probably been handed down through generations. Stella never knew that Grace could cook, especially not anything like this.

Lunch came and went with two of Donovan's lackey's trading off with the other two and taking a handful of sandwiches to their assigned posts within the house. The seven individuals within the house ate the food appreciatively, all being glad that it wasn't another burger meal from the local take away joint and chewed in an awkward silence. Grace was simply sitting at the table in an easy silence, not bothering to talk to Stella when she knew that it was only going to lead to another game of 'tell me now'.

Occasionally, as she ate with a stony expression the soon to be blonde would send questioning glares and glances at both Donovan and Grace, her mind working a million miles an hour. She couldn't for the life of her come up with any valid idea of what the two of them were deliberately hiding until Stella and Grace left for their new residence. Donovan was still in her AFP mindset, the thick manila folder open against the corner of the table

'_Any valid idea…..'_ Stella thought. _'None of what was going on is valid at all, anyways.'_

There she was sitting at a crappy kitchen table, which she guessed was from the early '90's, glancing at a ghost who was chewing a salad sandwich thoughtfully with a kind smile on her face, only making Stella even more confused.

* * *

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, later that night, after her shower. The monotonous and routine practice of walking up and down the hallway for half an hour as a part of her rehabilitation had left her struggling after only ten minutes, yet her stubborn mind had refused to let her body stop. She hobbled even with her crutches to the bedroom across the hall from hers where Grace was sleeping and thrown the question at her without even pausing to knock.

"You'll find out when we leave the day after tomorrow," Grace replied simply, not taking her eyes off the phone she had been playing with in her lap. She was sitting up against the bedhead, still fully dressed, looking like someone who had an endless list of household chores to do. If Stella was honest with herself, Grace looked _tired_. And it almost seemed as if she had aged more years than that had passed.

She definitely wasn't the same Grace Stella had known only those few years ago.

"Stella, I'm not going to tell you now-"

"I should know before we get there, Grace. Whatever it is shouldn't just be dropped into my lap if we're going to be cousins for the length of the unforeseeable future. It won't work if we're not honest with each other."

"You realise that you're simply spitting out everything that Donovan has been going on about right? Us having to get along for the sake of the situation, how it's for the best for everyone?" Grace asked.

"Yeah I do. She has a point though. You and me are stuck with each other. We need to trust each other right?" Even though it almost sounded one hundred percent convincing, Stella knew she didn't believe it wholeheartedly. Grace nodded in agreement. Maybe there was a point to living with a ghost after all. "So what's going on?"

Grace simply smirked and rolled her eyes. "You haven't changed a bit, Stella Dagostino," she muttered, loud enough for the soon to be blonde to hear as she threw her phone across the room to the girl. "I guess it would be smarter to tell you now."

Stella fumbled momentarily, having not been expecting a projectile to be aimed in her direction without warning. As she corrected herself, she turned the phone in her hands to right the screen, and her jaw dropped as it immediately clicked in her mind.

She had been looking at a photo of a small child, a girl no older than 3, hands covered in paint and open wide for the camera to see, with a grin from ear to ear and her light brown hair falling out of a ponytail. Her eyes were a very familiar dark brown, a little button nose and wide, excited eyes. She had Grace's shaped face, not very few of her other features.

"She's yours?" Stella asked, despite knowing what answer was coming her way.

"Yep. Two and a half. Three on September fourth."

Stella's eyes narrowed. "Who's her father?"

"You're telling me you can't tell by looking at that photo?" Grace challenged, before sighing in defeat. "Her name is Sadie Joshua Anderson. I was pregnant when I 'died'."

Stella shuffled herself over to the bed and let herself sink into the mattress as a heaviness settled in her heart. "Did Josh ever know?"

"That I was pregnant?"

"Yeah." The man who had turned into another brother for Stella, who had turned into a fantastic man, had a child he never knew about. This little girl was never going to know the man that was her biological father because of one hell of a screwed up situation. Her heart almost broke a little more than what it already was for Josh and his daughter. That notion sounded odd in her head, but the title suited him perfectly at the same time.

"No. He never knew. Neither did Connor." Grace sighed heavily and went back to staring at the photo of her daughter. "She is the reason why I'm so desperate to stay as invisible as possible. It's different, having someone in the real world that you have to keep safe by staying dead. But she's not out there in the real world, she's in this crappy, fucked up situation because of me. She is my daughter and I will do anything to keep her safe. You saw firsthand what Connor is capable of. Do you think that if I miraculously rise from the grave, that he would just ignore the fact that I have a kid? No. She would be his first target for revenge."

"Fucking hell, Grace," Stella sighed into her hands, elbows on her knees. "This whole thing just got ten times more complicated."

Stella had no issues living with a child, especially one that was biologically Josh's. She was sure to be a little rascal just like him. But now there was another person involved. Stella couldn't deny that her opinion of Grace had dropped significantly in her final few months in their world of cops and robbers, and to an extent the same had happened to Josh as well. Stella had planned to be a right pain in the arse for anyone involved in this situation, simply because she wanted to go home to her family and to Shannon. But now, her willingness to act out was waning and diminishing steadily by the second. There was someone to consider in the immediate situation. There was no separation. She had to play along and play it safe by Grace and Donovan's standards. Head down until she was called up.

"I won't risk her life, Stella," Grace all but whispered. "Not for you, not for anyone. Now that you know about me, that you've seen me and know about Sadie, you can't leave. You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing for the one person you love most in this world."

Her mind jumped immediately to Shannon, while her eyes found Grace's and silently agreed to a new found arrangement of peace and invisibility. "I wouldn't risk their life either."

Stella's hand dropped back to her hands and she wanted to cry. The hopes she had of getting back to being Senior Constable Stella Dagostino in the Victorian Police Force were going up in flames right before her eyes.

She was now Leah Grey.

* * *

Shannon's daily routine had become a fairly simple one. A simple one that held so many complexities that it was exhausting just to open her eyes when her alarm went off or her phone rang. She got up, got dressed, went to work and came home. Occasionally she would let her body have some form of sustenance other than coffee, but even then it was a small portion. She couldn't find it in herself to stop feeling physically ill when the overwhelming smell of food made her want to bring up what little she had taken in.

While both body and mind were slow on the road to recovery, with the latter further behind than the former, her heart was trailing behind miserably and falling further behind with every passing hour. It had been taken to the grave by the one she loved. Several times in the six days that had passed since her attack, Shannon had found herself unable to move from the couch, or unable to rise from her bed. She knew she had to do something, and idea of activities kept going round and round in her head; go for a drink at the pub after work, take up Josh's offer of lunch on a day off, see her mother, just go for a walk. But she just couldn't seem to find her voice to say the three letter word of 'yes'. 'Not tonight' seemed to be the automatic answer, and her legs took her straight home to sit numbly on the couch staring at absolutely nothing until she deemed it late enough to head to bed.

Housework went about forgotten, the few dishes she used left in the sink under the window, work clothes being the exception for washing, and cat food and wine being the only real thing she stopped at the supermarket on the way home for.

She had given up crying for herself. All the tears she could hold had slid down her cheeks during her first shower after the attack, and the first few times she woke from nightmares. She knew she was numb, she couldn't feel or think outside of work. It felt easier to close herself off to any kind of emotion or ideas or thoughts, considering the questions that seemed to go round and round her mind every minute.

'_What would happen when everyone found about that she was raped by another member of the force?'_

'_Would they think she was just pointing the finger, trying for attention after Stella's death?'_

'_What would the results be of her tests? Permanent or temporary damage? Infection? Both?' _

The bruises had faded to that nasty shade between green and yellow, and the scratches had healed almost completely, only pale pink outlines scattered her skin. Her muscles felt sore and her mind empty and full at the same time. During a shift at work, it seemed as if all of her energy was spent on keeping up the façade that everything was okay. Seeing as no one outside of Kerry and Josh knew what had happened, there was no reason to concern anyone else with her business. Twice Charlie had almost busted Kerry and Shannon discussing the investigation being conducted by Internal Affairs. Kerry had been there for the hospital admission, and was Shannon's superior officer, therefore she was privy to the information regarding Shannon's attacker. The investigations progress was channelled through Kerry directly, as it seemed to be the easiest way for everyone

It was a rare day off, when there was a solid knock on her front door. It was nearly ten in the morning and Shannon was still lying in bed, unable to muster up the energy to move from her spot, staring at the pillow that was Stella's whenever she stayed over. Thinking she heard something downstairs, Shannon was pulled from her daze to lift her head. Before she could deem that it had been imagined by her slightly occupied and empty brain, the knock came again.

Her heart jumped into her throat momentarily, as a thought meandered into her mind. No one ever came over anymore. So who was it that knocking?

"I don't have to get up," she said to herself. "Whoever it is can go away."

They knocked again and Shannon sighed. slightly occupied and empty brain, the knock came again.

"I don't have to get up," she said to herself. "Whoever it is can go away."

They knocked again and Shannon sighed, surrendering to the incessant want of this person and pulling herself up from the bed only to trudge downstairs.

The door was chain locked as she slid it open just a fraction to give a poor attempt at a one eyed glare at her unwanted guest.

"Josh," she sighed. Her heart slowed down, but only a fraction as she slammed the door in his face and closed her eyes.

"Open the door," came through the wooden door, but it was a few more seconds before she finally unlocked the chain and swung it open just a little bit further to allow her whole body to face him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Checking on you," he replied, slipping his shoes off on the front step and letting himself into the unit, leaving her to shut and lock the door behind them.

"I'm a grown woman, I don't need you to check on me Josh." She ground out the sentence with crossed arms as she noticed him stopping in the entrance to the lounge to take in three empty wine bottles on the coffee table with three times as many corks, two baskets of dirty washing sitting in the corner and a growing pile of unopened bills scattered on the table just inside the room. The usually relatively spotless double-story unit had accumulated an unimaginable amount of cat hair and dust that he had ever thought possible.

In response to her comment, he simply stared at her with an incredulous look on his face and a single eyebrow raised. "Don't bullshit me, Shan."

"What are you doing here?" she repeated. "I want to go back to bed."

"As if," he snorted, pulling his zip up hoodie off and laying over the back of the couch before beginning to collect the growing pile of rubbish. "Go shower and get dressed. We're going for a late breakfast."

"Ever think I'm not in the mood, or I just wouldn't want to?" she asked, crossing her arms sharply.

"Yeah I did. Too bad. Go. We need to have a talk and I'm hungry." In true Josh fashion, he nudged her and gave a smirking wink as he passed her to enter the kitchen. "I don't care how long you take, but go shower and get dressed in appropriate clothing and get your arse down here."

"Why?" she sighed, the last of her remaining energy to argue with him.

"Because someone needs to look out for you," he answered quietly. "You're not doing it for yourself. And because you're family. We look out for each other, Shan. Please, go shower."

She couldn't say no to the look on his face and the sincerity in his voice, and it wasn't purely because she had no energy to put up a fight. Shannon simply sighed in agreement and trudged upstairs towards her bathroom.

She could hear him banging around downstairs, even with the hot water on. She felt empty and numb and barely awake for him to be ordering her around on her day off. All she wanted to do was be as closed off as she could manage and as much as she wanted. If Shannon was completely honest, she was worried as to what Josh was up to; there was a bit of a heavy thud downstairs and she hoped he hadn't broken anything. Or killed the cat. The water was so hot it was stinging every inch of her skin, giving her the perfect distraction. The only thing she couldn't be bad at him for was caring. Josh wouldn't be cleaning her house if he didn't care about her.

It was three quarters of an hour later when she returned to a decently clean downstairs floor of her house. Josh had cleaned the kitchen, done the dishes, vacuumed the carpet, taken the rubbish out, changed the kitty litter, piled her bills for her to sort, put one basket of washing on, and was beginning to quickly mop the kitchen when she reached the bottom landing looking close to her old self.

"Thanks," she mumbled, ten minutes later when he had emptied the bucket and put the mop outside to dry off.

"I would do anything for you because you're family. You should know that by now, Shan," he replied, standing next to her to admire his own handiwork.

Without another word, she stood on her toes and slid her arms around his neck for a hug. It was the first time in over a week since she had initiated any kind of physical contact with anyone, and even longer since it had been just more than a slap on the back. He returned the hug with a gentle fierceness that only Josh could come up with. For the first time since her girlfriend's death she felt safe and content, regardless of however short lived it was.

His stomach rumbled as they pulled apart several minutes later. "Hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah, and you've got nothing in your cupboards. Or your fridge other than cat food and I don't eat cat food."

"That's because you eat like a pig," she retorted. She sounded exactly like she used to for a split second, before she grabbed her bag and keys, slipped her shoes on and walked out the front door. If she was going to be forced to eat food, she was going to put up a bit of a fight.

Quietly Shannon sat in the passenger seat of Josh's car, as he drove them in a direction she wasn't following. Over the soft hum of the radio, she could occasionally hear his stomach rumble in hunger and she could only rustle up a small chuckle and a soft smile.

"What do you want for breakfast? It's gotta be take-away," he said, earning a confused look from Shannon.

"Where are we going once we have the food?"

"You'll see. What's for breakfast? Choose quickly or it's my decision," he warned. Shannon cringed slightly, knowing that Josh's choices in fast food mostly reflected Josh's taste in food, rather than something a normal human could eat.

"Umm, there's a café on Hudson Avenue," she said. It was a local café, she had planned to take Stella there for a date night one night but had never been able to find enough time in between their shifts and exhausting nights spent at home. "A kilometre up the road, turn right. It'll be on the left. They do some stuff take away."

Their journey continued in silence until they pulled up, Shannon walking with only a half-hearted purpose; her own stomach seemed to have decided it was hungry too. She just hoped she wouldn't end up feeling sick like she usually did as of late.

Being the gentleman Josh could be on rare occasions, he ordered and paid for their food before ushering his temporary prisoner back to the car to hold the hot food.

"Now where?" Shannon asked. Her comfort food when her stomach wasn't sitting right was becoming tempting in her hands, and the juice in her bag to wash it down just as much.

"Give me five minutes, will ya?" he retorted in fake exasperation, giving her a playful look and receiving a small smile in return.

It was better than nothing and was a definite improvement from the usual brooding woman. True to his word, five minutes later the car turned into the drive for their destination.

Melbourne Cemetery.

Shannon's heart dropped.

She couldn't be here. As much as her heart belonged to Stella, as much as she loved the woman with every fibre of her being, she couldn't be here. A heavy load of guilt fell on her shoulders and chest, and her apparent hunger disappeared completely. Shannon hadn't been to visit since she was attacked. An almost daily occurrence since Stella's funeral, had stopped the day following her sexual assault. Even though she was completely aware that it wasn't her fault, that she had been forced and was a victim, she was also aware that there was a feeling of betrayal. The heaviness in her heart hit her hard as she felt guilty for betraying her girlfriend, even though she had no say in the matter whatsoever.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, her voice strained and her jaw tight. If she didn't hold herself together, there were going to be tears. She was sure there were going to be tears regardless. "Josh I don't want to be here."

"Why not?" he asked. Parking the car off to the side of the driveway, looking at Shannon momentarily before locating Stella's headstone not far from their location. "I thought we could have breakfast with Donut."

"She's dead Josh!" Shannon said through gritted teeth.

"You haven't been to see her have you?" he asked softly. "You never passed up an opportunity to come and see her. You begged me those first few shifts to here for our lunch break, remember?"

"Josh, I can't be here right now," she begged. Her breathing had faltered and become ragged; the crying was starting and she couldn't stop it.

"Why not?" he repeated in a soft voice. His hand covered hers gently and he somehow managed to coax it out of her.

"Right now, you have no idea how guilty I feel. How badly I feel like I've betrayed her even because I couldn't stop him, no matter how many times I said no, no matter how hard I tried to stop him. I couldn't."

"Why does that make you guilty then?"

Shannon choked on a few sobs. "Because it wasn't her."

Josh did his best to pull her into a gentle hug across the centre console and succeeded with little difficulty. His best friend simply cried and cried, something she hadn't done in a week. She missed Stella, and wished that her brunette girlfriend, that the one she was sure she was going to spend forever with was there protecting her from herself. Josh seemed to have read her mind.

"You should talk to her. Maybe it would help. You haven't seen her, you haven't told her anything. Your visits were like therapy after she died and I know you're trying to move on because she's gone but that doesn't mean you can't visit her, that you can't tell her your problems. Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone that isn't physical there than telling someone sitting right next to you," he sighed.

"It hurts Josh. To miss her. It hurts so badly that I just want to rip my heart out so I can't feel it anymore," she said, turning to face him with a sad desperation written on her face.

"I know," he said, stressing his understanding of how she was feeling. "I know, Shannon. Grace is, uh, Grace is buried not far from here and until I met Tash, even just after when we were figuring it out, all through whatever we were, I still went and saw Grace. Not to torture myself but to help. Talking to her helped me make sense of what was in my head. It really did help. I know it's not the same, but I miss her too."

"I don't know what to feel anymore Josh. There has been so much pain. I can't navigate this kind of pain without her."

"I know," he said sadly. "But if she was your strength, why not let it stay that way? It sounds so cheesy but remember her with your strength. You are nowhere near weak, Shannon. And I know stuff has been hard, but she gave that cross to you for a reason."

Shannon's teary eyes snapped up to meet Josh's. "How did you…?"

"I'm a tactically trained police officer. I'm trained to notice things," he smiled. However that smile he was wearing turned more towards a shit eating grin. "That, and I saw her give it to you that day we were chasing that train."

Without another word, he got out of the car and rounded the vehicle to her side. While her tears had subsided, the nervous thudding in her chest had increased while she had begun holding her breath unconsciously when he opened the door and held out his hand. She took it hesitantly and handing him some of their now lukewarm food.

The sun was beginning to really heat up as they passed grave after grave hand in hand for a minute or two. Until they reached the one they were looking for.

They both lowered themselves to the ground by the headstone.

Shannon's hands were shaking as her hand tentatively traced the letters engraved into the stone.

_Stella Nina Dagostino._

_May 10th 1985 – December 16th 2011_

_Beloved daughter, sister, partner, friend._

_Forever in our hearts._

"Hey, Stel," Shannon sighed. Her heart rate began to drop immediately after her hand touched the stone. "I've missed you."

* * *

**Again, please don't kill me.**


End file.
